Al Serino: Introduction to Landscape Painting

The works of art that feature scenes of nature are called landscapes. This can include mountains, lakes, gardens, rivers, and any scenic view. Brooklyn-based landscape painter, Al Serino, points out that landscapes can be oil paintings, watercolors, gauche, pastels, or prints of any kind.

Serino started his career as an art director in Brooklyn, New York. Moreover, for aproximately 12 years, he served as instructor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Serino's atelier is located in Brooklyn, from where he creates his artworks. This artist has recently held an exhibition in Brooklyn, where he presented his new series of landscape paintings.

Here, the Brooklyn landscape painter explains the basis of landscape painting.

Painting the Scenery

Landscape is derived from the Dutch word landschap. The natural world around us is captured by these paintings. While this genre captures majestic mountain scenes, gently rolling hills, and still water garden ponds, it also can depict any scenery and feature subjects within them such as buildings, animals, and people.

Besides of the traditional viewpoint of landscapes, over the years, artists, such as Al Serino, have turned to other settings, such as cityscapes (views of urban areas), seascapes (capture the ocean), and waterscapes (feature freshwater such as the work of Monet on the Seine).

Landscape as a Format

The word landscape has another definition in art. Serino, who conducts landscape painting classes out of his atelier in Brooklyn, explains that "Landscape format" to a picture plane, with width which is greater than its height. Generally, this piece of art is in a horizontal rather than a vertical orientation. In this sense landscape is derived from landscape paintings. The horizontal format is much more suitable to capturing the wide vistas that artists hope to portray in their work.

A vertical format, which also can be used for some landscapes, restricts the vantage point of the subject. Serino points out that it may not have the same impact.

Landscape Painting in History

Although they are popular today, Brooklyn-artist, Serino, in his publications, indicates that landscapes are relatively new to the art world.

He also explains that, in early art, the focus on spiritual or historical subjects, so capturing the beauty of the natural world was not a priority during that time. Landscape painting began to emerge in 17th century. It was recognized by many art historians, including Serino, that it was during this time that scenery stopped to be just an element in the background and became the subject itself. Here, Serino points out the work of French painters Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin as well as Dutch artists like Jacob van Ruysdael.

In the French Academy hierarchy of genres, landscape painting ranks in the fourth place. History painting, portraiture, and genre painting are ranked before landscape painting. The still life genre was considered less important.

Landscape painting has gained widespread popularity by the 19th century. It often romanticized the scenic views. As artists attempted to capture what was around them for all to see, this genre came to dominate the subjects of paintings. Also, landscape paintings gave the first (and only) glimpse that many people had of foreign lands.

Landscapes began to be less realistic and literal in the mid-1800s, with the emerging of the impressionists. Serino points out that artists like Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne demonstrated a new view of the natural world. From there, landscape painting has thrived. Now, it is one of the most popular genres among collectors.

Artists, such as Al Serino, have taken the landscape to a variety of places, with new interpretations and many sticking with tradition. Serino’s landscape paintings have been presented in many galleries across Brooklyn. According to Serino, the landscape genre now dominates the landscape of the art world.