Picturesque

History

The picturesque is an aesthetic category derived from the idea of designing landscapes to look like pictures. The picturesque was at its height in Britain around the turn of the nineteenth century, though its development began much earlier and it is still in use today. In American landscape discourse, the term “picturesque” had two important uses. The first referred to a garden style with specific compositional components detailed by theorists such as Thomas Whately and A. J. Downing. The picturesque also came to be understood as a visual effect achieved by the incorporation of natural and designed landscape elements into a prospect or view. This second sense is clear in J. C. Loudon’s 1826 claim that a view was picturesque if “it would form a tolerable picture” when painted. This use of the term was used frequently in travelers’ descriptions of towns, settlements, or gardens. Downing later echoed Loudon when he wrote that “the picturesque is nature or art obeying the same laws rudely” (1849). It is evident that during their historical development, both senses of this term, as either a style or a visual effect, were frequently used simultaneously. In addition, in many cases the term “picturesque” served as an effective expression meaning simply an attractive or pleasing scene, as in the case of William Bartram’s romantic and evocative descriptions of his travels in the south (1792). The goal of the picturesque was to re-create in the garden the experience of the natural landscape. The chief characteristics of the picturesque were surprise and variety, in contrast to the effects of terror and awe associated with the sublime. These characteristics were defined by the theorists Whately and William Gilpin, whose treatises were well known in America. At Mount Vernon, Rev. Manasseh Cutler reported in 1802 that the picturesque effect was enhanced by “coming out of a thick wood, and the sudden and unexpected manner in which it was seen,” underscoring the importance of surprise to the picturesque effect. Similarly, sinuous routes through the garden afforded a “continual change of scenery.” In reference to his picturesque plantations, Downing claimed that the effect depended upon “intricacy and irregularity.”1

In A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1816), G. Gregory insisted that the picturesque garden was possible only in properties that exceeded twenty acres; smaller lots were considered ridiculous for such a function. He thus defines the picturesque garden as part of the larger designed landscape, a portion apart from the house, and extensive and often synonymous with “park.” Any part of a designed landscape, however, could be produced in the picturesque mode, even the ornamental farm as illustrated by Downing [Fig. 1].

The concept of the picturesque was critical to Downing’s approach and a continuous theme in his Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1849). Downing defined the picturesque as a style distinct from the beautiful mode of design, but considered both varieties of the modern or natural style of landscape gardening: the “Beautiful” expressed simple and flowing forms, whereas the “Picturesque” had striking, irregular and “pointed” forms. He illustrated the latter term with cottage houses set on relatively modest lots [Fig. 2]. The picturesque style, according to Downing, was

achieved not by size (contrary to Gregory’s definition), but by shapes and outlines of trees, architecture, and grounds. For Downing, the term represented primarily a rejection of all regular and geometric forms in landscape design.

Instructions for laying out the picturesque garden were found in garden literature such as the Horticultural Register, which stated in 1837 that the picturesque was a “facsimile imitation of natural scenery.” In his treatise, Downing advocated that trees should stand in irregular groups not in straight rows [Fig. 3], and paths and borders should be winding or serpentine, adapting to the natural inequalities of the surface. Several writers recommended that any sign of artifice should be disguised.

American scenery, according to Downing and his contemporaries, was a place where, he wrote in 1850, “the wildness or grandeur of nature triumphs strongly over cultivated landscape,” and ultimately harmonizes with the boldly varied picturesque style. The ingredients of Downing’s picturesque included an architecture of projecting profiles and bold outlines, specific vegetation, such as larch trees, and planting schemes of irregular groups. The desired effect could be achieved, according to Downing, at little cost, even on small properties such as farms. He illustrated the picturesque garden in his Treatise with winding lanes, irregular groups of trees, and untrimmed hedges giving a less formal, and a more free and natural air.

Numerous representations and descriptions of designed landscapes emphasized the picturesque aesthetics of the site, exemplified by both image and text of Washington Irving’s Sunnyside [Fig. 4]. Gardens laid out with picturesque features have been documented from the 1740s in the British colonies, in such places as Henry Middleton’s seat, Middleton Place, and William Middleton’s plantation, Crowfield, both near Charleston, S.C. In 1802, Cutler determined that Mount Vernon had “quite a picturesque appearance” because of the successful integration of the building with the surrounding trees. Lewis Miller’s 1849 illustrated account of his visit to Mount Vernon [Fig. 5] repeated Cutler’s description of Washington’s home as picturesque. In the sketch Miller did not position the plantation symmetrically (a view that might have emphasized the bilateral symmetry of the design), but presented the house from an oblique angle that depicted the house off- center, focusing more on the “little copses [and] clumps” that add “a romantick and picturesque appearance to the whole Scenery.” Mount Vernon was a particularly interesting example because specific aspects of its design were often criticized for not being in the more modern, picturesque style. It seems that although individual elements were not deemed to be picturesque, the entire effect of house, gardens, and extended landscape could still be. This tension is also expressed in Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s views of Mount Vernon [Fig. 6]; Latrobe used picturesque conventions to depict the house, even though his written critique of the gardens expressed displeasure with its symmetrical parterres.2

In 1829, at a meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the picturesque garden was presented as one garden type in a list that included the kitchen, flower, and botanical gardens. Its component parts included the imitation ruin, rustic ornament, and exotic styles as indicated by André Parmentier’s advertisement for his services. The rustic prospect tower at Parmentier’s horticultural and botanical garden in Brooklyn, N.Y., was praised by Downing as one of the “most fitting decorations of the Picturesque landscape garden” [Fig. 7]. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Parmentier’s nursery and botanical garden was frequently described in the farm and garden press as an important exemplar of the picturesque. In his own article entitled “Landscape and Picturesque Gardens” of 1828, Parmentier described this modern style, the picturesque, as reinstating “Nature in the possession of those rights from which she has too long been banished by an undue regard to symmetry.”

Nathaniel Parker Willis in American Scenery (1840), made a distinction between the picturesque in American landscape and that elsewhere. In Europe, ruins—symbols of history—were central to the experience of the picturesque. In the United States, however, the “eternal succession of lovely natural objects,” was for Willis, expressive of the future.

-- Therese O’Malley

Texts

Usage

Bartram, William, 1792, describing islands off the coast of Georgia and Florida (1996: 93)

“These floating islands present a very entertaining prospect; for although we behold an assemblage of the primary productions of nature only, yet the imagination seems to remain in suspense and doubt; as in order to enliven the delusion, and form a most picturesque appearance, we see not only flowery plants, clumps of shrubs, old-weather beaten trees, hoary and barbed, with the long moss waving from their snags, but we also see them completely inhabited, and alive, with crocodiles, serpents, frogs, otters, crows, herons, curlews, jackdaws, &c. There seems, in short, nothing wanted but the appearance of a wigwam and a canoe to complete the scene.”

Brown, Charles Brockden, 1798, describing the fictional estate of Wieland, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 54–55)

“No scene can be imagined less enticing to a lover of the picturesque than this. . . .

“The scenes which environed our dwellings at Mettingen constituted the reverse of this. Schuylkill was here a pure and translucid current, broken into wild and ceaseless music by rocky points, murmuring on a sandy margin, and reflecting on its surface banks of all varieties of height and degrees of declivity. These banks were chequered by patches of dark verdure and shapeless masses of white marble, and crowned by copses of cedar, or by the regular magnificence of orchards, which, at this season, were in blossom, and were prodigal of odours. The ground which receded from the river was scooped into valleys and dales. Its beauties were enhanced by the horticultural skill of my brother, who bedecked this exquisite assemblage of slopes and risings with every species of vegetable ornament, from the giant arms of the oak to the clustering tendrils of the honeysuckle.”

Cutler, Rev. Manasseh, 2 January 1802,

describing Mount Vernon, plantation of George Washington, Fairfax County, Va. (1987: 2:56)

“It appears on an eminence, not like a hill, but a level ground, with a pretty deep valley between, covered with woods and bushes of different kinds, which conceal the winding passage from the gate to the house. . . . In this situation the house, with two ranges of small buildings extending in a curved form, from near the corners of the house, till interrupted by the trees, has quite a picturesque appearance, and the effect is much heightened by coming out of a thick wood, and the sudden and unexpected manner in which it is seen.”

Anonymous, September 10, 1817, describing in the Virginia Herald a property for sale in Westmoreland County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

“Rappahannock land. For sale. . . . The situation is high, healthy, and picturesque; from the south door, you overlook the rich scenery of the Rappahannock for a great extent; and from the north, you have a fine view of the Potomac, whitened by the rapidly-increasing commerce of the District of Columbia.”

Silliman, Benjamin, 1824, describing Monte Video, property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 15)

“The little spot of cultivation surrounding the house, and the lake at your feet, with its picturesque appendages of winding paths, and Gothic buildings, shut in by rocks and forests, compose the fore-ground of this grand Panorama.”

Anonymous, 26 April 1826, “On Landscapes and Picturesque Gardens” (New England Farmer 4: 316)

“Mr. [Andrew] P[armentier]. by the advice of several of his friends, will furnish plans of landscape and picturesque gardens; he will communicate to gentlemen who wish to see him, a collection of his drawings of Cottages, Rustic Bridges, Dutch, Chinese, Turkish, French Pavilions, Temples, Hermitages, Rotundas, &c. For further particulars, inquiries personally, or by letter, addressed to him, post paid, will be attended to.”

Hall, Capt. Basil, 1828, describing a “bungalow” in Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)

“We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel walks, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy, broad verandah, we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . . Many similar houses nearly as picturesque as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude.”

Anonymous, 3 October 1828, “Parmentier’s Horticultural Garden,” describing André Parmentier’s horticultural and botanical garden, Brooklyn, N.Y. (New England Farmer 7: 85)

“The green-house department, although not so extensive as some in our vicinity, contains many beautiful plants exhibited with the same tasteful arrangement which characterizes the whole of Mr. Parmentier’s establishment; even the method in disposing the pots according to some principle of grouping or contrasting the color and size of the flowers, entertains the eve, and shows the variety of ways in which a skillful gardener may distribute his materials to produce picturesque effect.”

Committee of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1830, describing Lemon Hill, estate of Henry Pratt, Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Boyd 1929: 432)

“In landscape gardening, water and wood are indispensable for picturesque effect; and here they are found distributed in just proportions with hill and lawn and buildings of architectural beauty, the whole scene is cheerfully animated by the brisk commerce of the river, and constant movement in the busy neighborhood of Fairmount.”

Dearborn, H.A.S., 1832, describing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass. (quoted in Harris 1832: 64–65)

“it is proposed, that a tract of land called ‘Sweet Auburn,’ situated in Cambridge, should be purchased. As a large portion of the ground is now covered with trees, shrubs, and wild flowering plants, avenues and walks may be made

through them, in such a manner as to render the whole establishment interesting and beautiful, at a small expense, and within a few years; and ultimately offer an example of landscape or picturesque gardening, in conformity to the modern style of laying out grounds, which will be highly creditable to the Society.”

Ritchie, Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt, 1839,

describing Bonaparte’s Park at estate of Joseph Bonaparte (Count de Survilliers), Bordentown,

N.J. (quoted in Weber 1854: 186) “The only portion of the building left is the observatory, which is surrounded by a stone enclosure and looked like a miniature ruin left purposely in this dilapidated state to add to the picturesqueness of the scene. A narrow stream winds itself gracefully through one part of the grounds, over which several rustic bridges are erected. Equally rustic seats are scattered beneath the shade of the tall trees on its banks, and upon its clear surface a flock of snow-white swans were floating about.”

Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1840, describing the Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. ([1840] 1971: 3–4, 313)

“The interest, with regard to both the natural and civilized features of America, has very much increased within a few years; and travelers [sic], who have exhausted the unchanging countries of Europe, now turn their steps in great numbers to the novel scenery, and ever-shifting aspects of this.

“The picturesque views of the United States suggest a train of thought directly opposite to that of similar objects of interest in other lands. There, the soul and centre of attraction in every picture is some ruin of the past. The wandering artist avoids every thing that is modern, and selects his point of view so as to bring prominently into his sketch, the castle, or the cathedral, which history or antiquity has hallowed. The traveller visits each spot in the same spirit—ridding himself, as far as possible, of common and present associations, to feed his mind on the historical and legendary. The objects and habits of reflection in both traveller and artist undergo in America a direct revolution. He who journeys here, if he would not have the eternal succession of lovely natural objects—

“‘Lie like a load on the weary eye,’ must feed his imagination on the future. The American does so. His mind, as he tracks the broad rivers of his own country, is perpetually reaching forward. Instead of looking through a valley, which has presented hundreds of years—in which live lords and tenants, whose hearths have been surrounded by the same names through ages of tranquil descent, and whose fields have never changed landmark or mode of culture since the memory of man, he sees a valley laden down like a harvest wagon [sic] with a virgin vegetation, untrodden and luxuriant; and his first thought is of the villages that will soon sparkle on the hillsides, the axes that will ring from the woodlands, and the mills, bridges, canals, and railroads, that will span and border the stream that now runs through sedge and wild-flowers. The towns he passes through on his route are not recognizable by prints done by artists long ago dead, with houses of low-browed architecture, and immemorial trees; but a town which has perhaps doubled its inhabitants and dwellings since he last saw it, and will again double them before he returns. Instead of inquiring into its antiquity, he sits over the fire with his paper and pencil, and calculates what the population will be in ten years, how far they will spread, what the value of the neighbouring land will become, and whether the stock of some canal or railroad that seems more visionary than Symmes’s expedition to the centre of the earth, will, in consequence, be a good investment. He looks upon all external objects as exponents of the future. In Europe they are only exponents of the past. . . .

“Steps and terraces conduct to the reservoirs, and thence the view over the ornamented grounds of the country seats opposite, and of a very picturesque and uneven country beyond, is exceedingly attractive. Below, the court of the principal building is laid out with gravel walks, and ornamented with fountains and flowering trees; and within the edifice there is a public drawing-room, of neat design and furniture; while in another wing are elegant refreshment- rooms—and, in short, all the appliances and means of a place of public amusement.” [Fig. 8]

Mills, Robert, 23? February 1841, describing his design for the national Mall, Washington, D.C. (Scott, ed., 1990: n.p.)

“By means of Groups and vistas of trees, picturesque views may be obtained of the various buildings and such other objects as may be of a monumental character and thus there would be an attraction produced which would draw many of our citizens and strangers to partake of the pleasure of promenading here.” [Fig. 9]

Hovey, C. M., October 1841, “Notes made during a Visit to New York, &c.,” describing Presque Isle, residence of William Demming, Fishkill, N.Y. (Magazine of Horticulture 7: 374)

“Beyond the grouping of trees on the bank of the river, and the stately forms of some of the single specimens on the lawn, we found but little to notice. Of the former we can speak in gratifying terms; for we are delighted to be able to give our evidence of the existence of so much of that landscape beauty among us, which is almost exclusively the peculiar feature of the gardening of Britain. Nature, it is true, has done much for the place, but art has also accomplished a great deal. . . .

“Through the belt on the border of the river, by cutting away the branches, views of the most interesting portions of the opposite side of the river have been opened. Were the lawn only kept closer, and more frequently mown, the walks filled with gravel and well rolled, we could have imagined ourselves in some of the fine old picturesque places of England.”

Adams, Rev. Nehemiah, 1842, describing Boston Common, Boston, Mass. ([Adams] 1842: 11–12)

“It is seldom that a piece of ground is seen which, with no greater extent, is so diversified in surface and combines so much in itself that is picturesque, as the Common. There is hill and plain, meadow and upland, in it. It has sufficient irregularity to make a pleasing variety of surface without being rough; its elevations are well sloped towards the plain part of the enclosure; indeed it would be difficult for art to arrange the surface of the Common more agreeably for pleasing effect or use.”

W., February 1842, describing Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Mass. (Magazine of Horticulture 8: 49)

“The site of the Lowell Cemetery is eminently picturesque and beautiful. The northern and southern boundaries embrace a range of high grounds, covered for the most part with a young and verdant growth of trees: these high grounds gradually and abruptly slope towards the centre or valley, through which runs a brook, supplying several large ponds for the season, also sufficient for supplying a fountain of about one hundred feet head. The southern range of high grounds is covered with a verdant growth of trees, and is highly ornamented with that most characteristic and appropriate of all sepulchral ornaments—well grown and stately oaks, intermixed with the funereal and feathered boughs of the dark hemlock; while the slopes are only partially clothed with trees, and the contrast between the deep dusky green of the hemlock and the soft bright tint of the grass in the open spaces between them, produces an effect almost magical, and which strikes one as being more the result of art than nature.”

Downing, A. J., October, 1847, describing Montgomery Place, country home of Mrs. Edward (Louise) Livingston, Dutchess County, N.Y. (quoted in Haley 1988: 49)

“He takes another path, passes by an airy looking rustic bridge, and plunging for a moment into the thicket, emerges again in full view of the first cataract. Coming from the solemn depths of the woods, he is astonished at the noise and volume of the stream, which here rushes in wild foam and confusion over the rocky fall, forty feet in depth. Ascending a flight of steps made in the precipitous banks of the stream, we have another view, which is scarcely less spirited and picturesque. “This waterfall, beautiful at all seasons, would alone be considered a sufficient attraction to give notoriety to a rural locality in most country neighborhoods. But as if nature had intended to lavish her gifts here, she has, in the course of this valley, given two other cataracts. These are all striking enough to be worthy of the pencil of the artist, and they make this valley a feast of wonders to the lovers of the picturesque.”

Miller, Lewis, 5 June 1849, describing Mount Vernon, plantation of George Washington, Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108)

“Mount Vernon . . . is pleasantly situated on the Virginia bank of the river. The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty portico ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight pillars, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water: ornamented with little copses— clumps, and Single trees—. add a romantick and picturesque appearance to the whole Scenery.”

Committee on the Capitol Square, Richmond City Council, 24 July 1851, describing John Notman’s plans for the Capitol Square, Richmond, Va. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 162)

“It was deemed advisable to commence the improvements of the Square itself on the western side thereof . . . the ground on that side [has been] formed into gentle natural undulations, rising gradually to the base of the capitol and to the monument . . . giving great apparent extent to the grounds and producing an agreeable variety and at the same time affording space for much greater extent of walks, leading in every direction where they may be useful or agreeable without the necessity of climbing steps and dividing the grounds into irregular and picturesque lawns.”

Horticola [pseud.], March 1852, “Notes on Gardens and Country Seats Near Boston,” describing Oakley Place, seat of William Pratt, Boston, Mass. (Horticulturist 7: 127)

“OAKLEY PLACE, the residence of Mrs. PRATT, is near Mr. CUSHING’S, and presents a fine specimen of a small country place, combining the picturesque and the natural—the gardenesque and the wild, in beautiful harmony together.”