In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density (and even modernity) implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and interstitial space.
From the first century A.D. dates a fresco at the Baths of Trajan in Rome depicting a bird's eye view of an ancient city.[1] In the Middle Ages, cityscapes appeared as a background for portraits and biblical themes. From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous copperplate prints and etchings were made showing cities in bird's eye view. The function of these prints was to provide a map-like overview.
Halfway through the 17th century the cityscape became an independent genre in the Netherlands. In his famous View of Delft in 1660–1661 Jan Vermeer painted a quite accurate portrait of the city Delft. Cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem and The Hague also became popular subjects for paintings. Painters from other European countries (i.e., Great Britain, France, Germany) followed the Dutch example. The 18th century was a flourishing period for cityscape painting in Venice (Canaletto, Guardi).
At the end of the 19th century the impressionists focused on the atmosphere and dynamics of everyday life in the city. Suburban and industrial areas, building sites and railway yards also became subjects for cityscapes. During the 20th century attention became focused on abstract and conceptual art, and thus the production of cityscapes declined. American painter Edward Hopper, who stayed loyal to figurative painting, created intriguing images of the American scene. With a revival of figurative art at the end of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscape. Well-known living cityscape painters are Rackstraw Downes, Antonio López García, and Richard Estes. American artist Yvonne Jacquette has made a specialty of aerial cityscapes.
^Eugenio la Rocca: "The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan's Baths, Rome." Imago Mundi Vol. 53 (2001), pp. 121–124.
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Media related to Cityscapes in art at Wikimedia Commons
Cityscape – ArtHistory.net
January 08, 2024
cityscape, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sch. For other uses see Cityscape disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Cityscape news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the visual arts a cityscape urban landscape is an artistic representation such as a painting drawing print or photograph of the physical aspects of a city or urban area It is the urban equivalent of a landscape Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape though it implies the same difference in urban size and density and even modernity implicit in the difference between the words city and town In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and interstitial space The Dam Square in Amsterdam by Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde c 1660Tampere Finland in the 1890sDresden Germany in the 1890sHouses of Parliament Sunset 1902 by Claude MonetCityscape of New York in the 1980s Contents 1 History of cityscapes in art 2 Selected cityscape painters 3 Selected cityscape photographers 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory of cityscapes in art editFrom the first century A D dates a fresco at the Baths of Trajan in Rome depicting a bird s eye view of an ancient city 1 In the Middle Ages cityscapes appeared as a background for portraits and biblical themes From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous copperplate prints and etchings were made showing cities in bird s eye view The function of these prints was to provide a map like overview In Ancient China scroll paintings such as Along the River During the Qingming Festival Qingming Shanghe Tu offer a panoramic view of the cities depicted Halfway through the 17th century the cityscape became an independent genre in the Netherlands In his famous View of Delft in 1660 1661 Jan Vermeer painted a quite accurate portrait of the city Delft Cities like Amsterdam Haarlem and The Hague also became popular subjects for paintings Painters from other European countries i e Great Britain France Germany followed the Dutch example The 18th century was a flourishing period for cityscape painting in Venice Canaletto Guardi At the end of the 19th century the impressionists focused on the atmosphere and dynamics of everyday life in the city Suburban and industrial areas building sites and railway yards also became subjects for cityscapes During the 20th century attention became focused on abstract and conceptual art and thus the production of cityscapes declined American painter Edward Hopper who stayed loyal to figurative painting created intriguing images of the American scene With a revival of figurative art at the end of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscape Well known living cityscape painters are Rackstraw Downes Antonio Lopez Garcia and Richard Estes American artist Yvonne Jacquette has made a specialty of aerial cityscapes Selected cityscape painters editAlexander Beggrov Bernardo Bellotto Johann Berthelsen George Hendrik Breitner Gustave Caillebotte Canaletto Edouard Leon Cortes John Atkinson Grimshaw Francesco Guardi Childe Hassam Jan van der Heyden Edward Hopper Isaac Israels Matthaus Merian Georgia O Keeffe Camille Pissarro Jacob Lawrence Paul Signac Alfred Sisley Jan Vermeer Brian Whelan James McNeill Whistler Guy C Wiggins Stephen Wiltshire Selected cityscape photographers edit Berenice Abbott Eugene Atget Richard Berenholtz Henri Cartier Bresson Andre Kertesz Andrew Prokos Edward SteichenSee also edit Gordon Cullen Landscape painting List of cities with most skyscrapers Skyline Skyscraper VedutaReferences edit Eugenio la Rocca The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan s Baths Rome Imago Mundi Vol 53 2001 pp 121 124 External links edit nbsp Media related to Cityscapes in art at Wikimedia Commons Cityscape ArtHistory net Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cityscape amp oldid 1193326541, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
