Artists painted oil sketches outdoors on paper or small panels as early as the 17th century. By the late 18th century the practice was widespread across Europe, but the undisputed centre was Italy, famous for the quality of its light, its attractive landscapes and ancient ruins. Many artists gathered in Rome, from where they would set out for the countryside and scenic sites such as the waterfalls at Tivoli.
Artists were encouraged to sketch quickly to capture fleeting light effects. However, not all studies here are swiftly painted. Some, particularly the city scenes, are carefully created, and complex preparatory drawings lie beneath the surface.
By the 1830s, painters increasingly explored the possibilities offered by the scenery of their own countries. Sketching in the open air developed into naturalistic landscape painting, executed both out of doors and in the studio. Mountains, valleys and forests were seen as legitimate subjects for paintings in their own right. These could have religious or spiritual significance. The German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) saw deeper meaning in nature, and stressed the importance of the artist’s personal response to it.
