Nature As Reality (1969)

[Music] a poet once said the treasures on Earth that so richly unfold are Divine Revelations for my heart to behold [Music] strangely enough nature was discovered as artistic Motif only 500 years ago religion had long dominated art finally Awakening to the beauty of this world Renaissance painters replaced golden backgrounds with a sweep of landscape [Music] gradually the emphasis is shifted to Nature in this flight to Egypt figures almost disappear the landscape itself has become a worthy subject of art absorbed by their new interest painters were inspired by rushing rivers and windblown trees with their interplay of light and shade everything was to be observed with reverence the sparkling path of sunlet streams the harmony of colors found in unexpected [Music] places The Artful forms and balance proportions of a little flower how to do justice to such Perfection by creating a style of art which rendered the smallest plant yes even a leaf as Faithfully as possible in 1503 the German artist dur painted a microscopic world with every blade of grass minutely detailed in contrast Peter brle organized in three Plains a vast living space in each plane a fantasy of events tells the story of haym [Music] reality lovingly observed inspired each painter in a different way the rich fertile fields of the Flemish lanss kindled the imagination of Peter Paul Rubin tranquil and intimate country scenes appealed to the 17th century Dutch Masters Richard Wilson called the father of the English landscape fused the real with the poetic while Constable exploited the natural effects of Earth and Sky Coro the last French Master of the old tradition introduced with his fleeting light effects A New Concept [Music] thus for centuries nature remained the teacher of art what does the painters see in the world of reality that so inspires him his imagination is aroused by the vastly expanding space offering a breath taking three-dimensional panorama yet the space which the painter designs on the flat and static canvas is a creation of his own skill the third dimension The View towards the horizon appear appears in the two-dimensional painting as an illusion it is achieved by applying in art the rules of perspective observed in nature lines get closer together the road wide in the foreground Narrows in the distance foreground objects appear larger in size forms overlap let us call for a moment bral's haymaking one of the first great Landscapes of Western Art it mastered the rules of perspective notice the large size of the foreground tree the overlapping forms the narrowing of the road towards the [Music] distance if the painter was inspired by the the challenge to Faithfully recreate space what other gifts of nature have kindled his imagination wherever his eyes travel he sees a harmonious pattern a design placed into the depth of space he detects an infinite variety of lines curves C forms and shapes they are always repeated in art straight horizontal lines give a feeling of stability and infinity the diagonal lends emphasis to depth and [Music] distance vertical lines appear forceful and dynamic curved lines are graceful and denote action [Music] what an imaginative display of forms each identifying an inexhaustible world of [Music] objects gently curving shapes sharp triangles or rectangles are seen by the Artist as Nature's Exquisite design in time and space nature appears infinite and abundant to achieve a claim art must be controlled and orderly here one strong vertical is placed against a variety of geometrical forms they are primarily an element of design the purpose of these lines and forms curves and shapes is to induce the eye to move and to follow the artistic Vision lines in art have another function they interpret a certain mood of nature Coro shows a landscape in movement all lines following the direction of the wind risdale emphasizes a threatening storm by the Deep triangle of the receding Shore in this painting by conable lines and forms magnificently represent nature but they are used to serve art they establish relationships they create a pleasing design for example Constable places a sharp diagonal against a central horizontal he balances the light coloring of the sea with the dark portion of the land Richard Wilson also repeats and varies each curve and shape for Effective composition based on order and balance realistic landscape painting has always reflected the inspiration derived from [Music] nature creative artist transforms Reality by taking the vast three-dimensional space and rearranging it in his work to create his own [Music] design structures in painting carefully reflect the forms and shapes of all living [Music] things lines in art are true to life but used with control nature they are abundant and in [Music] motion stimulated by the ever pleasing variety of colors the realistic painter chooses quiet and gentle harmonies he carefully studies the quality of light to reproduce its varying effect the completed work of art increases our awareness of beauty it is a tribute from the creative Artist To Nature the visible climax of all creation [Music]