"Picturesque"—the Ruins Motif In English Landscape Paintings Of The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries

Landscape painting,as an independent type of painting,is an important part of the long history of Western brilliant art,in which the British landscape painting from the 18^thto 19^thcentury is undoubtedly the most brilliant,injecting fresh and surging vitality into western landscape art.This is an era with talented people occurring.Outstanding landscape painters have sprung up like mushrooms.From Richard Wilson,the“father of English landscape painting”,and William Turner,the British art represented by landscape painting has successfully ranked among the top of the international art,showing a scene of prosperity.Throughout the vigorous development of landscape painting in this period,we can find that in this great era,the desolate,gloomy and decadent image of ruins has been generally recognized by artists and the public,the visual expression of ruins in art works has reached unprecedented breadth,and the painter's love for the image of ruins has also become a consensus different from the previous generation of landscape painters.In the works of many painters,the appearance of the image of ruins is no longer limited to the contrast of the picture atmosphere,and even gradually developed into a creative theme.At the same time,the theory of picturesque aesthetics proposed by William Gilpin,and the aesthetic standard of“picturesque scenery”also appeared.This paper aims to explore the charm of ruins in British landscape painting from the 18^thto the 19^thcentury:how it gained the preference of artists and the public in this period of Britain,and how it perfectly matched with the theory of“picturesque”and became the best object to interpret“picturesque beauty”,so as to write a wonderful“story”for the history of British landscape painting.This paper first discusses the reasons for the formation of the British ruins fashion from four perspectives.Then,combining with William Gilpin's artistic thoughts,this paper analyzes the internal relationship between the taste of British ruins and the concept of“picturesque”popular from the 18^thto the 19^thcentury.Finally,it elaborates on the symbols and metaphors behind the British ruined landscape,and returns the foothold to the development of landscape painting,ultimately reflecting the relationship between man and nature,which is an eternal topic related to the destiny of all mankind.It is hoped that we can understand the great British ruins landscape art from a deeper sense,and then appreciate the long-standing artistic charm of the West.