Cambridge exhibits European open-air paintings to see how the painters captured authentic nature

How will the artist express the fleeting emotion of encountering nature under a stormy sky, seeing the projections of the mottled canopy, the reflection of a clear lake, and facing the awe-inspiring scene of a volcanic eruption?

Since May 3, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England has launched "True Nature: 'European Open-Air Painting, 1780-1870'", an exhibition that links the art of painting with meteorology, naturalism and other disciplines, exploring how 18th-century artists captured light and dramatic atmosphere in open-air sketching, guiding the audience to seek and reveal the science behind the landscape.

Eugène Decan, Camille Corot in outdoor painting, 30.7x40cm, 1874, collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Outdoor sketching is often on a par with the Barbizon school and impressionism, and is at the heart of the artist's training. In the late 18th century, with the rise of science, philosophical writings and Romanticism, the love of nature was promoted by the masses. Artists from all over Europe practice in nature with brushes, honing their skills and recording moments of light and shadow. They don't stick to the details, and quickly outline them on paper with thin oil or watercolors to capture the essence of the landscape.

Sometimes, artists will process sketches into works or as part of a grandiose creation. But most sketches are kept in the studio and rarely sold or publicly displayed.

Degas, St. Elmo Castle, 1856, 20×27cm, Collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK, "Authentic Nature: European Open-Air Paintings, 1780-1870", exhibits around 100 works from the collections of the Museum, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Fitzluggert Foundation in Paris, as well as important private collections.

Portability is most important for outdoor sketching, so most of the works in the exhibition are on paper and the size is not large. As depicted in Jules Coignet's 1837 view of Bozen With a Painter, the artist carries a lightweight paint box, a folding easel, a camping stool, and an umbrella to protect him from the sun and rain.

Jules Cornett, "Looking at Poseidon with the Painter," 1837, 31x39cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

Arranged according to landscape categories such as "Trees", "Rocks, Grottoes, Caves", "Influences of the Sky and the Atmosphere", and "Rome and Campania", the exhibition reflects the artist's fascination with nature, which also inspired Haydn's oratorio "Four Seasons", Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" and the works of contemporaries such as Schubert, Liszt and Wagner.

John Constable, Cloud Studies: Stormy Sunsets, 1821-1822, 20.3x27.3cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Camille Corot, and Théodore Rousseau, J.M.W. and Othertoire Rousseau, who are not considered landscape painters, are not considered landscape painters. Turner) and other works by landscape painters who are not well known are on display. For example, Flagner's Mountain Landscape at Sunset (circa 1765) relies on the work of the English painter and amateur meteorologist Constable, as well as on the study of clouds by painters such as Anton Sminck Pitloo and Johann Jakob Frey. The dark tree textures in Turner's earlier works, The Gypsies Sitting in the Beech Forest and the Gypsies In the Beech Forest, are reminiscent of Gothic stage design.

Fragonard, Sunset Mountain View, circa 1765, 21.5x32.8cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

There are also some surprising works in the exhibition. The English pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt used loose brushstrokes and a black palette in his memorable The Thames at Chelsea, Evening (1853), a style far removed from Hunter's usual rich colors and supernatural precision, reminiscent of the American painter Whistler, a few years younger than him. Similarly, although the French symbolist painter Odilon Redon tried to capture a sense of desolation in Village on the Coast of Brittany, the beautiful naturalism in the painting was very different from the lonely imagery he wanted to express.

William Holman Hunt, Chelsea's River Thames, Night, 1853, 15.2×20.3cm, Fitzwilliam Museum Collection, Cambridge

Audiron Redon, Villages on the Brittany Coast, 1880, 21.1×36.3cm, Collection of the Fitzlugt Foundation in Paris

But no matter which way you judge it, the works on display are beautiful. They capture the fleeting effects of daylight on nature (skies and clouds, mountains, fields and forests, raging waves, bubbling waterfalls), as well as pergolas and roofs under dappled sunlight– these works depict not only the landscape itself, but also often appear as a backdrop for narrative and genre paintings. One group of works depicting volcanoes (such as Mount Vesuvius, Mount Stromboli), whether they are dormant, steaming, or erupting like hell, fascinated the painter.

Jean-Charles Raymond, "The Eruption of the Stromboli Volcano on 30 August 1842", 1842, 27×37 cm, private collection

The works in the exhibition span 90 years, and the works of different eras can be seen in the changes in artistic styles. Achille-Etna Michallon's 1816 Oaks and Reeds paints a romantic tragedy: a tiny figure in the face of nature witnesses an oak tree destroyed by a storm, and he raises his hands in pain to warn of danger. In stark contrast, Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) presents an ink painting-like meditation in Misty Landscape against a row of trees against the gray sky.

Rosa Bonch, Landscape of Mist

In this exhibition, the emotion of facing the landscape is conveyed, and the work also takes the viewer to a world that no longer exists and is no longer threatened – the painters frankly and happily record the glory of nature.

Interdisciplinary research on exhibited works:

Claude Loren: Gandalf Castle overlooking Lake Albano

Claude Loren, Gandalf Castle overlooking Lake Albano

Claude Lorrain's sun-filled landscapes had a huge impact on outdoor sketching in the 18th and 19th centuries. Born in France, he spent most of his time in Italy, often painting in the countryside near Rome. In order to "delve" himself into nature, he "lay in the field before dawn in order to accurately observe the morning sky and the subtle colors of sunrise and sunset." ”

This "View of Gandalf Castle overlooking Lake Albano" was completed by Claude Loren in his studio, but infused with the soft, hazy light and color effects he observed in the wild. Like him, the painters in this exhibition use open-air sketching as reference materials to help them inject a certain degree of naturalism into their creations, and their research has become a treasure trove of observation, memory and feeling. —Jane Munro (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), co-curator of the exhibition

Louis Dupré, "View of the Holy Trinity in Rome" & André Giroux, "Holy Trinity After the Snow"

Luis Dupre, Landscape of the Holy Trinity in Rome

André Giroud, Holy Trinity Church after the Snow

Two young French artists live in the Villa Medici, home to the Académie de France in Rome, where students with great artistic talent are trained.

Both artists looked out of the window on the side of the villa (perhaps their bedroom) towards Holy Trinity Church. Dupre depicts the landscape outside the window in the midsummer sun, while Giroud paints the same scene under the light snow cover. Snow is rare in Rome, and the artist woke up to see the rare snow scene, and with great excitement, he hurried to record it with a paintbrush before the snow melted. —Mary Morton (National Gallery of Art, Washington), co-curator of the exhibition

John Constable's research on clouds

I sat on a folding stool and used the paint box lid on my knee to color the clouds in front of me. This is how John Constable repeatedly confronted the sky in the 1820s — he called it "skying." As Constable did – pre-painted with a layer of color on the paper helps to sketch quickly to keep up with moving clouds. However, capturing the colors of light and clouds is difficult in static, two-dimensional space, which makes me appreciate even more the skill of artists such as Constable in painting clouds from nature. —Rowan Frame (Artist)

John Constable, Sky Studies

I looked at the clouds and thought of the reflections in the sky and swamps, as if I had returned to the summer at the turn of the century. I was working with ecologist Nick Davies in Wicken Fen, where we could hear the chirping of reeds, the chirping of cuckoos, the smell of damp mud. We studied the behavior of cuckoo juveniles to figure out how cuckoo juveniles in the nest get the care of reed warblers. Davis found the nest of the reed warbler, and my job was to record and record the young bird calls. We hid in the reeds and sat for hours at a time, one observing the nest, counting the number of feedings of the big birds, and the other taking notes, and intently observing the sky for signs of rain. —Rebecca Kilner, Director of the University of Cambridge Zoological Museum

Turner: "Gypsies Sitting in a Beech Forest" & "Gypsies In a Campfire in a Beech Forest"

Turner, "Gypsies Sitting in a Beech Forest"

Turner: Gypsies on Campfires in a Beech Forest

It depicts man's relationship with nature.

The canopy provides a kind of protection, and humans lose themselves in looking up. The roots extend downwards, which is an incredible force and power.

I realized how much humans need trees – trees are an essential part of our lives. We feel sad when we see trees fall, where would we be without them?

I was in awe of the environment, and the trees were like a starting point and a signpost. Trees can take root and grow in any environment, bringing unlimited hope to individuals. I saw the majesty and energy of the trees, and we lived together on earth. —Participant in Fitzwilliam Museum's "Healthy Age" program

Note: This article is compiled from the Wall Street Journal's Lawrence Scheller exhibition review Spontaneous Creation and the Fitzwilliam Museum website in Cambridge, and the exhibition will last at least August 29