Reflecting on the picturesque.
The essay shown in the reading has been removed.
I used instead a piece on the picturesque by William Gilpin.
After looking up a couple of definitions of picturesque:
dictionary.reference.com/browse/picturesque
Picturesque definition, visually charming or quaint, as if resembling or suitable for a painting: a picturesque fishing village.
Merriom Webster
pic·tur·esque adjective \ˌpik-chə-ˈresk\
: very pretty or charming : like a painted picture: telling about something in a way that makes it very easy to imagine : causing someone to have a very clear mental picture of something.
These definitions also tell us what picturesque images are not. They are not frightening, sublime or awe inspiring. They are not political or too thought provoking. They do not challenge or threaten nor should they be too maudlin or sweet.
In 1770 William Gilpin instructed England's leisured travelers to examine "the face of a country by the rules of picturesque beauty". What he seems to be saying is that the picturesque sits midway between the beautiful and the sublime. A picturesque image should invite you in, to have you wish you were there. The picturesque focuses on the pictorial balance of a scene and show nature in harmony with man.
Enter “picturesque painting” into a search engine and the screen is full of images of perfect landscapes populated by very few animals and even fewer people. every stream cuts a perfect line and no feature appears out of place.
Repeat this exercise for photographs and one is confronted with images of mostly wild country that still looks safe and welcoming. Gone are the wild storms of Ansel Adams’ Yosemite Park to be replaced by fluffy clouds in azure skies.
The picturesque scene is one that the viewer would be glad to visit and be a part of, unlike the more menacing sublime image which should tingle the spine and make the viewer fearful.
When I take picturesque images I try to have the picture exude tranquility, stillness and calm. To give the viewer feel that this is a restful place, a place of reflection and peace. The subject is immaterial, it is the feeling that it exudes that is important.
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