People have been expressing themselves through art and nature for centuries. And as we continue to explore our creative abilities, there are an infinite number of options in which to express ourselves. Whether they’re abstract expressionists, figurative artists, or impressionist artists, artists tend to express themselves and the world they live in through the visual arts. Many of the most important artists depict art inspired by nature, like beautiful landscapes, serene seascapes, or other natural wonders.
Art inspired by nature is a genre of art that is dependent on the creator’s surroundings. People have practiced it since the beginning of time, and it has evolved with the times to include everything from paintings to photography. Today, artwork inspired by nature can mean anything from an artist simply painting what they see to photographers making composite images. It could be realistically or abstractly with all art styles.
Nature teaches us about shapes, colors, animals, and even feelings. Artists have been inspired by natural elements for as long as mankind can remember. Their creations make us feel a sense of joy and happiness, reminding us what we like about this world. We will talk about some art inspired by nature in this article.
15 Art Inspired By Nature
Art inspired by nature, these 15 artworks from artists across the globe will make you want to get outside and marvel at the world around you. The greatest works of art in history have often been inspired by nature. Painters like Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin found inspiration in the vast reaches of their local natural settings.
It’s no surprise then that natural settings have also inspired artists throughout history. From impressionist painters to contemporary pop artists, nature has provided a seemingly endless source of artistic inspiration. In fact, it’s so ubiquitous in the art that one could easily consider it a genre all its own. Check out these 15 examples of nature inspired art.
1. The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh’s wild and expressive paintings gained popularity after his death only because they were so expressive and wild. In addition to being among the author’s most expressive works, his nature paintings often act as footprints of the author’s inner turmoil and inner workings. A starry night is one of his most famous (and beloved) works because it brims with swirling, thick colors. Daubigny’s Garden and Wheatfield Under Clouded Sky are two other paintings done by the artist during the last weeks of his life.
2. Gloucester Harbor by Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer began his career as a self-taught American artist as a commercial illustrator. As a result of his fascination with nature, he made oil paintings as a traditional medium and became famous for his landscapes and marine subjects while on vacations from his job. A nature painting such as Gloucester Harbor captures the beauty of color and changing light and conveys the tranquil atmosphere of a seaside vacation. The Ohio Toledo Museum of Art holds a number of other works by the artist influenced by nature, such as Sunlight on the Coast, Song of the Lark, and Cloud Shadows.
3. The Oxbow by Thomas Cole
According to legend, Thomas Cole, an American painter, founded the Hudson River School. The school was the foundation for an aesthetic movement in the 19th century founded by landscape artists inspired by Romanticism. During this period, utilized nature to convey deeper philosophical themes through its wild and expressive qualities. In his Distant View of the Niagara Falls, Home in the Woods, and The Oxbow paintings, Cole captured the rugged wilderness of America realistically and beautifully. His paintings are forms of allegorical artwork in many ways because many of the themes he depicts go beyond the simple depictions of nature.
4. Sunlight and Shadow by Martin Johnson Heade
Traveling to the tropics and painting many of his works with flowers and birds inspired American landscape painter Martin Johnson Heade. After exploring his surroundings, he grew to specialize in portrayals of salt marshes along the New England coast. His painting Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes displays a detailed landscape analysis. Besides Rocks in New England, Sunrise in Nicaragua, and Rhode Island Landscape, he painted many landscapes.
5. Looking Down Yosemite Valley by Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt was an American painter involved in the Hudson River School movement. His famous nature paintings often featured wildlife and the outdoors. He painted Looking Down Yosemite Valley, one of his famed nature paintings. Said to be part of the Rocky Mountain School Movement.
6. Road Near Mont Sainte by Paul Cezanne
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Cezanne was an important figure in the Post-Impressionist movement. Artist Paul Cezanne is famous for breaking from the traditional rule of perspective in the art to explore color and form in his work. He is one of the most influential avant-garde artists of the 20th century. He flattened surfaces and incorporated geometric shapes to create the objects’ independent quality, which later influenced the Cubist movement. Through basic geometric shapes and flat areas of vibrant color, he conveys his interest in nature and elements through his famous painting Road Near Mont Sainte-Victoire.
7. The Flamingos by Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau declared that nature was his primary teacher in one of his most famous artworks. Many considered his self-taught art to be nature art and praised the style and depiction of nature and man in his work. He won recognition for his art of depicting jungles. His nature painting The Flamingos and his celebrated work The Dream show the juxtaposition between reality and fantasy.
8. Black Mesa Landscape by Georgia O’Keeffe
Modernism was birthed in America through Georgia O’Keeffe. Her goal was to make the natural world more appealing to the eye by making it abstract, similar to the innovative European artists of the early 20th century. Most of her work focuses on flowers. Her art stands as one of the first abstract and stylized nature images, as she lived a great deal in New Mexico, where she owned a ranch. Her famous painting Black Mesa Landscape depicts the landscape of New Mexico and White Palace. Pineapple Bud and Calla Lilies on Red are among her most famous flower paintings.
9. Hill with Lighthouse by Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper’s (1882-1967) paintings are engrossing due to their mystery, contributing to their appeal. Contradictory interpretations arise in particular from this landscape from 1927. Hopper depicts a scene that combines three elements: a winding valley, a house, and a lighthouse, which are apparent to the viewers of the landscapes of America’s Atlantic coast, and in particular of New England.
In the face of such an abandoned, nearly deserted scene, it is inevitable to feel a sense of anguish in spite of the reassuring light in the painting. The line dividing human civilization from nature is a difficult one to draw. Despite the postcard’s set-up, there is an active face behind which evident anxiety and boredom. His fascination with lighthouses’ vertical structure makes him an expert in the subject. Symbols of loneliness and storms, lighthouses are also real landmarks in the landscape. Without a sea, the scene becomes even more enclosed, creating a feeling of claustrophobia!
It is a habit for Hopper to paint landscapes in the country, despite the fact that his best-known works feature figures thinking in bars throughout Hollywood.
10. The Hay Wain by John Constable
In his paintings of the surrounding nature, Constable contributed to redefining the genre of nature painting. Dedham Vale was renamed Constable Country after his artwork so closely associated with it. He did not earn a living from his work in his lifetime, but he received praise widely by esthetics after his death.
The photograph depicts a farmhouse on the banks of the Stour River, which passes through the towns of Essex and Suffolk. This artwork is centered on a huge wooden wagon being pulled across the River Stour by three horses. He appears in the scene near Flatford Mill, which was his father’s property. One of the most famous Romantic landscape paintings in history, the picture holds a reputation of being a masterpiece.
11. The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai
Japanese artist Hokusai is best known for this picture, which is the most recognizable Japanese artwork. The first print in the series was published in 1892. Featuring three tiny fishing boats in Sagami Bay and Mount Fuji in the distance, this artwork depicts a massive, menacing wave.
Japan’s art forms reached Europe after a time of seclusion and quickly embraced, called Japonism. It’s no wonder Vincent van Gogh was a fan of Hokusai’s art, praising the Japanese artist’s linework and noting his emotions towards it. The Japanese artwork was known for its impact on the culture and art of Europe.
12. The Heart of the Andes by Frederic Edwin Church
It stands at 167 cm high and 302 cm wide and depicts a picturesque scene from the Andes in South America, where the artist twice toured. His presentation in 1859 cemented his reputation as the greatest American landscape artist. Frederick Edwin Church’s most famous work is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection since 1909.
A shimmering pool is at the center-right of the landscape, fed by a waterfall. Mount Chimborazo is visible in the distance, its dark slopes descending from right to left, attracting the viewer’s eye. Two natives in the foreground, a village and a church in the central area, and a lightly trodden path are all signs of human activity. The painting appeared in the Tenth Street Studio Building for the first time between April and May of 1859, which was the city’s first studio for artists.
13. Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh
While the artist was in the final weeks of his life, he created this famous painting in July 1890. There are people who believe that it was his last painting. Though other pieces may also contend for the top spot. In this painting, you can see an overcast sky populated by crows amidst a wheat field. Due to the lack of direction and the crows’ unclear flying path, a sense of solitude is amplified.
A windswept wheat field takes up two-thirds of the canvas. Crows pay attention to every detail and explore each one carefully. Those who live in and with nature more thoroughly than we do find it helpful to follow the advice of this wise bird in a variety of obscure matters where humans still haven’t figured out how to solve.
14. Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau
In his early artistic life, Rousseau lived at the margins of famous artists and authorities of the time. Reviewers criticized this picture as being overly juvenile and one of the artist’s earliest works. However, the many distinct layers of this painting impressed some art enthusiasts when it was first displayed in 1891.
According to Rousseau, a group of adventurers was about to be attacked by a tiger. Green hues apply throughout his paintings to reflect the lush, luscious character of the jungle. Rousseau’s work received praise for its novel approach to the notoriously depicted forest over the past century. Rain is rushing in with a very strong gust of wind, so the artist painted silver on the picture. Roussel’s work during his lifetime was controversial, but after his death, it has become one of the most celebrated paintings of the natural world.
15. Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet
He had amassed enough riches by the end of the 19th century to buy Giverny – in truth, and he was able to spend his earnings on his first house after having passed through most of his financial difficulties. The project would result in a magnificent and unique estate with the artist’s most impressive gardens and a pond with water lilies.
His works in this area numbered just three by the time 1897 arrived. In this 1899 painting, the famous bridge, the backdrop forests, and the weeping willows are all shown in a beautiful arrangement. The strokes are quick, which is something he did a lot of in his older years. Apparently, he didn’t intend to paint the flowers, but once they established themselves, he was unable to paint anything else. He explained his reason for seeding them in a letter.
Final Words
Nature inspires a lot of artists. It is amazing how beautiful this world is and it is truly an inspiration for many artists. It is impossible not to feel joy and happiness when we look at these 15 art inspired by nature. Thanks to the artists for bringing that spark of inspiration into the minds of their viewers. It’s also no surprise how much nature inspires us because it’s truly amazing. It can teach us so many things, and one thing that I’ve learned is that nature can always be found in its original form. We just need our eyes to see it.