8 art masterpieces inspired by nature

There is great evidence that any sign of nature, such as plant on your windowsill or a walk outside, may offer a real boost to the creative process. It’s not a surprise then that many artists not only gain inspiration from nature but actually turn it into the main character of their works. Here are 8 art masterpieces inspired by nature:

1)   Water Lilies - Claude Monet

The famous French artist Claude Monet was one of the most celebrated Impressionists whose nature paintings are well known in the  history of art. Investigating the shifting nature of light and the perception of pure color, his paintings defined the Impressionistic style. His famous Water Lilies series (nearly 250 oil paintings) depicts Monet’s flower garden in Giverny, France. They were the main focus of his work during the last 30 years of his life. What’s most inspiring about them is how different each painting in the series is from the other — nature is so fleeting, always changing and transforming, colors and lights moving in ways that can never fully be captured.

2)   Falling Water ­– Frank Lloyd Wright

Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. Frank Lloyd Wright harbored a great respect for nature in his work and believed that buildings and architecture should harmoniously connect with and benefit the land around it. His pioneering thoughts have inspired architects and artists to follow his footsteps in maintaining the environment while merging it with art.

“A building should appear to grow easily from its site and be shaped to harmonize with its surroundings if Nature is manifest there,” he once said.

 3

)   Gloucester Harbor - Winslow Homer

The self-taught American artist Winslow Homer initially worked as a commercial illustrator. Fascinated with nature, he began investigating the traditional oil medium and soon became famous for his landscape and marine subjects produced during his working vacations. His nature painting Gloucester Harbor showcases the beauty of color, the shifting light, and the serene atmosphere of the vacation at sea.

4)   Sunlight and Shadow - The Newbury Marshes - Martin Johnson Heade

The American landscape painter Martin Johnson Heade spent much of his time traveling through the tropics where he was largely inspired by the local flora and fauna. Exploring the world around him, he began to specialize in depictions of salt marshes in the New England Coastal area. His painting Sunlight and Shadow: The Newbury Marshes not only reflects his interest in this subject matter, but also displays the detailed analysis of the landscape.

5)   Spiral Jetty – Robert Smithson

Robert Smithson was famous for being one of the first people to undertake “land art” or “earthworks.” In Spiral Jetty, he constructed a giant swirl out of mud, rocks, and salt crystals jutting into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The earthwork disappears then reappears, depending on precipitation and the tide. When there’s drought, the jetty is more visible while normal precipitation keeps it submerged; and every time it reappears, it is slightly different. It reflects the transient and changing nature of the earth.

6)   Looking Down Yosemite Valley - Albert Bierstadt

The German-American painter Albert Bierstadt was associated with the Hudson River School movement, inspired by the American West. The beauty of the outdoors and its wildlife were often the subject matter of his famous nature paintings. Among his celebrated nature paintings, which many associate also with the Rocky Mountain School Movement, is his painting Looking Down Yosemite Valley.

7)   Waterfall, No 1, ‘Iao Valley Maui – Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe was famous for her abstract paintings of the American desert, but not many people know that she spent several months in Maui, one of the lush islands of Hawaii (she was there on assignment for a pineapple company but spent most of her time painting the gorgeous landscape). The painting above serves as a tribute to a land largely untouched by human hand and pollution — seeing the purity of the landscape is something of a religious experience for anyone who can get the chance to go to Hawaii. It’s artworks like these that remind us how important it is to conserve natural.

8)   Birds of America - John James Audubon

The French-American painter John James Audubon was also an ornithologist and naturalist. His famous book The Birds of America became a major resource in the field of ornithology, and he was credited with the discovery of 25 new species of birds.

Article by Anna Mikhova,

Unarthodox Element Blog Contributor