Landscape is perhaps the most obvious theme in painting. Nature surrounds us, and particularly in a vast country like Canada it is a dominating force that is only natural to capture on canvas. Quebec painters especially, from the 1780's onwards, had a love-affair with landscape painting. Painters felt that they could express their own spirit by capturing the spirit of the land, in all its splendour. The beauty of nature, and its vast landscapes was the driving force behind this theme, and painters often took inspiration from European works, but added Canadian landmarks and people, such as the Natives. Landscape painting was common for almost every artist at the time, as the breathtaking beauty of the land could not be ignored by the expressive people, the artists in society. Light and open terrain gave a godly look to the Academic paintings, and for the Nationalists, allowed an expanding of the artists' imagination. Much of the love for landscape painting came from a growing sense of ownership of the land. People felt independent, and separate from Britain, and their pride in their own country showed in the number of amazing works that have been created.
BitRUSH WEB DESIGN GROUP, 1996