From Turner to Impressionists
: The Collection of the British Landscape Paintings
Sep. 25. 2010 - Sep. 26.
Seoul Arts Center, Museum of Hangaram 5/6 Exhibition Room
The exhibition brings the British landscapes from the 18th-19th century, featuring about 110 modern paintings from the eight noteworthy museums in England. The highlights include the works by Turner, Constable, and other French impressionists.

The first exhibit in Korea to present the paintings
from the Romantic period of the 18th-19th century  

J.M.W Turner and John Constable represent British Romanticism, and their landscapes inspired many of their contemporary artists such as Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard, and Camille Pissarro. This exhibition presents 116 masterpieces of those artists in collaboration with 8 top museums in England: Manchester Art Gallery, Bury Art Gallery, Rochdale Art Gallery, Tabley House Collection (Manchester University), Gallery Oldham, the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, etc. 
 

An academic exhibition that sheds light on the essence of Romanticism

In England during the 18th-19th century, the main economy stream was transformed rapidly from an agrarian society to an industrial society, and its consequence put many philosophers and artists into confusion. They gathered to ponder upon the conflicts from the economic change and initiated the Romanticism movement to find its pure meaning and to develop its application to art. 
 

Content

  • Section 1. Pure landscape subjects and Nature
Tired and confused by the rapid changes in society from industrialization, people started to seek pure nature. For the painters, the landscape was a place of spiritual refuge and an object of meditation that would bring emotional succor and regeneration.
 
  • Section 2. Marines, Rivers, Lakes, and Coastal subjects 
Sea was not only the source of nature but also the source of inspiration for many artists. It appeared mysterious, sublime, and sometimes ominous with its violent power. Artists looked at the subject from different angles and tried to capture its various characteristics on the landscapes. 
 
  • Section 3. Pastoral Scenery - landscapes with laborers and animals 
Behind the ordinary scenes of people and animals farming together, the landscapes also depict the hardship of the low-class people who were disadvantaged from industrialization and had to continue the hard labor works to make living.
 
  • Section 4. Ordinary Landscapes 
From the 19th century, British art was liberated from biblical subjects. The artists finally found freedom in choosing subjects. Many painters naturally practiced landscapes to depict ordinary people's daily lives.
 
  • Section 5. New Landscapes with Travellers and Architecture 
After the 20-year long Napoleonic Wars, British painters began to travel around the European continent and found inspiration regionally to practice landscapes. What interested them most was the newly industrialized cityscapes and changed bucolic sceneries or antique architectures that were not, yet, destructed by industrialization. 
 
  • Section 6. French Impressionism - Active Cultural Exchange between England and France 
In 1850, Paris was the center of European Art without a question. Impressionism and other new aesthetic movements were also brought to England. Around the 1880s, French painters created diverse types of bucolic landscapes by incorporating the traditional British landscape painting methods with the French impressionist style. 
Information


  • Period
    • Sep. 25. 2010 – Sep. 26. 2010
    • Closed on every last Monday of each month
  • Venue
    • Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum 
  • Main Artists
    • J.M.W Turner, John Constable, Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard, Camille Pissarro, etc
  • Total Number of Works
    • 116 pieces 
  • Hosts
    • SBS, Seoul Arts Center
  • Organizer
    • GNC Media
  • Sponsors
    • Hana SK Card, Lotte Department Store, IP Decaux, Hansol Education, TATE, Novotel Ambassador Gangnam
  • Cooperation
    • CREDIA, Artis Inc., NCA
  • Supports
    • British Embassy Seoul, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
  • Media Support
    • Naver