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In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density (and even modernity) implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and interstitial space.

History of cityscapes in art

From the first century A.D. dates a fresco at the Baths of Trajan in Rome depicting a bird's eye view of an ancient city.^[1] In the Middle Ages, cityscapes appeared as a background for portraits and biblical themes. From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous copperplate prints and etchings were made showing cities in bird's eye view. The function of these prints was to provide a map-like overview.

In Ancient China, scroll paintings such as Along the River During the Qingming Festival (Qingming Shanghe Tu) offer a panoramic view of the cities depicted.

Halfway through the 17th century the cityscape became an independent genre in the Netherlands. In his famous View of Delft in 1660–1661 Jan Vermeer painted a quite accurate portrait of the city Delft. Cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem and The Hague also became popular subjects for paintings. Painters from other European countries (i.e., Great Britain, France, Germany) followed the Dutch example. The 18th century was a flourishing period for cityscape painting in Venice (Canaletto, Guardi).

At the end of the 19th century the impressionists focused on the atmosphere and dynamics of everyday life in the city. Suburban and industrial areas, building sites and railway yards also became subjects for cityscapes. During the 20th century attention became focused on abstract and conceptual art, and thus the production of cityscapes declined. American painter Edward Hopper, who stayed loyal to figurative painting, created intriguing images of the American scene. With a revival of figurative art at the end of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscape. Well-known living cityscape painters are Rackstraw Downes, Antonio López García, and Richard Estes. American artist Yvonne Jacquette has made a specialty of aerial cityscapes.

Selected cityscape painters

Selected cityscape photographers

References

^ Eugenio la Rocca: "The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan's Baths, Rome." Imago Mundi Vol. 53 (2001), pp. 121–124.

External links

Cityscape – ArtHistory.net

[1] Eugenio la Rocca: "The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan's Baths, Rome." Imago Mundi Vol. 53 (2001), pp. 121–124.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|An artistic representation of the physical aspects of a city or urban area}}
-{{refimprove|date=April 2018}}
 {{Other uses}}
+{{more citations needed|date=April 2018}}
-[[File:The Dam in Amsterdam, by Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The [[Dam Square]] in Amsterdam, by [[Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde]], c. 1660.]]
+[[File:The Dam in Amsterdam, by Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Dam Square]] in Amsterdam, by [[Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde]], {{Circa|1660}}]]
+[[File:Tampereen Kauppakadun liikennettä vuonna 1893.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Tampere]], Finland in the 1890s]]
 [[File:Dresden photochrom2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Dresden]], Germany in the 1890s]]
 [[File:Monet Houses of Parliament, Sunset.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''Houses of Parliament, Sunset'', 1902, by [[Claude Monet]]]]
-[[File:Collage by Tom Sulcer circa 1970s.JPG|thumb|right|200px|alt=Collage of a city.|Cityscape of [[New York City|New York]] in the 1980s.]]
+[[File:Collage by Tom Sulcer circa 1970s.JPG|thumb|right|200px|alt=Collage of a city.|Cityscape of [[New York City|New York]] in the 1980s]]
-In the [[visual arts]] a '''cityscape''' (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a [[painting]], [[drawing]], [[Publishing|print]] or [[photograph]], of the physical aspects of a [[city]] or [[urban area]]. It is the urban equivalent of a [[landscape]]. ''Townscape'' is roughly synonymous with ''cityscape,'' though it implies the same difference in urban size and density (and even modernity) implicit in the difference between the words ''city'' and ''town''.  In [[urban design]] the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and interstitial space.
+In the [[visual arts]], a '''cityscape''' (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a [[painting]], [[drawing]], [[Publishing|print]] or [[photograph]], of the physical aspects of a [[city]] or [[urban area]]. It is the urban equivalent of a [[landscape]]. ''Townscape'' is roughly synonymous with ''cityscape,'' though it implies the same difference in urban size and density (and even modernity) implicit in the difference between the words ''city'' and ''town''.  In [[urban design]] the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and interstitial space.
 ==History of cityscapes in art==
-From the first century A.D. dates a [[fresco]] at the [[Baths of Trajan]] in [[Rome]] depicting a bird's eye view of an ancient city.<ref>Eugenio la Rocca: "The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan's Baths, Rome." ''Imago Mundi''  Vol. 53 (2001), pp. 121-124.</ref>  In the Middle Ages, cityscapes appeared as a background for [[portrait]]s and [[Bible|biblical]] themes. From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous [[intaglio printing|copperplate]] prints and [[etching]]s were made showing cities in [[aerial landscape art|bird's eye view]]. The function of these prints was to provide a map-like overview.
+From the first century A.D. dates a [[fresco]] at the [[Baths of Trajan]] in [[Rome]] depicting a bird's eye view of an ancient city.<ref>Eugenio la Rocca: "The Newly Discovered City Fresco from Trajan's Baths, Rome." ''Imago Mundi''  Vol. 53 (2001), pp. 121–124.</ref>  In the Middle Ages, cityscapes appeared as a background for [[portrait]]s and [[Bible|biblical]] themes. From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous [[intaglio printing|copperplate]] prints and [[etching]]s were made showing cities in [[aerial landscape art|bird's eye view]]. The function of these prints was to provide a map-like overview.
+In Ancient China, scroll paintings such as [[Along the River During the Qingming Festival|''Along the River During the Qingming Festival'' (''Qingming Shanghe Tu'')]] offer a panoramic view of the cities depicted.
-Halfway the 17th century the cityscape became an independent genre in the [[Netherlands]]. In his famous [[View of Delft (Vermeer)|'View of Delft']] in 1660-1661 [[Jan Vermeer]] painted a quite accurate portrait of the city [[Delft]]. Cities like [[Amsterdam]], [[Haarlem]] and [[The Hague]] also became popular subjects for paintings. Painters from other European countries (i.e. [[Great Britain]], [[France]], [[Germany]]) followed the Dutch example. The 18th century was a flourishing period for cityscape painting in [[Venice]] ([[Canaletto]], [[Francesco Guardi|Guardi]]).
+Halfway through the 17th century the cityscape became an independent genre in the [[Netherlands]]. In his famous [[View of Delft (Vermeer)|''View of Delft'']] in 1660–1661 [[Jan Vermeer]] painted a quite accurate portrait of the city [[Delft]]. Cities like [[Amsterdam]], [[Haarlem]] and [[The Hague]] also became popular subjects for paintings. Painters from other European countries (i.e., [[Great Britain]], [[France]], [[Germany]]) followed the Dutch example. The 18th century was a flourishing period for cityscape painting in [[Venice]] ([[Canaletto]], [[Francesco Guardi|Guardi]]).
-At the end of the 19th century the [[impressionists]] focused on the atmosphere and dynamics of [[everyday life]] in the city. Suburban and industrial areas, building sites and [[Rail yard|railway yards]] also became subjects for cityscapes. During the 20th century attention became focused on [[abstract art|abstract]] and [[conceptual art]], and thus the production of cityscapes declined. American painter [[Edward Hopper]], who stayed loyal to figurative painting, created intriguing images of the American scene. With a revival of figurative art at the end of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscape. Well-known living cityscape painters are [[Rackstraw Downes]], [[Antonio López García]], and [[Richard Estes]]. American artist [[Yvonne Jacquette]] has made a specialty of [[aerial landscape art|aerial]] cityscapes. [[Stephen Wiltshire]], a London born artist with autism, is known for his [[panoramic]] cityscape renderings composed from memory, usually after taking a short overhead view of the city he is about to draw.<ref name="Daily Mail Reporter">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1223790/Autistic-artist-draws-18ft-picture-New-York-skyline-memory.html|title=Autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire draws spellbinding 18ft picture of New York from memory... after a 20-minute helicopter ride over city|publisher=Daily Mail Reporter
-|accessdate=2010-02-25|location=London|date=2009-10-29}}</ref>
+At the end of the 19th century the [[impressionists]] focused on the atmosphere and dynamics of [[everyday life]] in the city. Suburban and industrial areas, building sites and [[Rail yard|railway yards]] also became subjects for cityscapes. During the 20th century attention became focused on [[abstract art|abstract]] and [[conceptual art]], and thus the production of cityscapes declined. American painter [[Edward Hopper]], who stayed loyal to figurative painting, created intriguing images of the American scene. With a revival of figurative art at the end of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscape. Well-known living cityscape painters are [[Rackstraw Downes]], [[Antonio López García]], and [[Richard Estes]]. American artist [[Yvonne Jacquette]] has made a specialty of [[aerial landscape art|aerial]] cityscapes.
 ==Selected cityscape painters==
-{|-
+* [[Alexander Beggrov]]
-|
-*[[Alexander Beggrov]]
+* [[Bernardo Bellotto]]
-*[[Bernardo Bellotto]]
+* [[Johann Berthelsen]]
+* [[George Hendrik Breitner]]
-*[[Johann Berthelsen]]
+* [[Gustave Caillebotte]]
-*[[George Hendrik Breitner]]
+* [[Canaletto]]
-*[[Gustave Caillebotte]]
+* [[Edouard Leon Cortés]]
-*[[Canaletto]]
-*[[Edouard Leon Cortés]]
+* [[John Atkinson Grimshaw]]
-*[[John Atkinson Grimshaw]]
+* [[Francesco Guardi]]
+* [[Childe Hassam]]
-|
-*[[Francesco Guardi]]
+* [[Jan van der Heyden]]
-*[[Childe Hassam]]
+* [[Edward Hopper]]
-*[[Jan van der Heyden]]
+* [[Isaac Israëls]]
-*[[Isaac Israëls]]
+* [[Matthäus Merian]]
+* [[New York skyscrapers (O'Keeffe)|Georgia O'Keeffe]]
-*[[Matthäus Merian]]
+* [[Camille Pissarro]]
-*[[New York skyscrapers (O'Keeffe)|Georgia O'Keeffe]]
-*[[Camille Pissarro]]
+* [[Jacob Lawrence]]
+* [[Paul Signac]]
-|
-*[[Paul Signac]]
+* [[Alfred Sisley]]
-*[[Alfred Sisley]]
+* [[Pyotr Vereshchagin]]
-*[[Jan Vermeer]]
+* [[Jan Vermeer]]
-*[[Brian Whelan]]
+* [[Brian Whelan]]
-*[[James McNeill Whistler]]
+* [[James McNeill Whistler]]
-*[[Guy C. Wiggins]]
+* [[Guy C. Wiggins]]
-*[[Stephen Wiltshire]]
+* [[Stephen Wiltshire]]
-|}
+{{clear}}
+== Selected cityscape photographers ==
+* [[Berenice Abbott]]
+* [[Eugène Atget]]
+* [[Richard Berenholtz]]
+* [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]]
+* [[André Kertész]]
+* [[Andrew Prokos]]
+* [[Edward Steichen]]
 ==See also==
@@ Line 49: / Line 63: @@
 *[[List of cities with most skyscrapers]]
 *[[Skyline]]
+*[[Skyscraper]]
 *[[Veduta]]
-==External links==
-{{commonscat-inline|Cityscape paintings}}
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
+==External links==
+{{Commons}}
+*[https://www.arthistory.net/cityscape/ Cityscape] – ArtHistory.net
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Cityscapes| ]]
-[[Category:Art genres|Cityscape]]
+[[Category:Visual arts genres|Cityscape]]
 [[Category:Cityscape art|*]]
 [[Category:Landscape]]
 [[Category:Architecture paintings|*]]
-[[Category:Art of the Dutch Golden Age]]