Topographical tradition
Encyclopedia
The topographical tradition
describes a long-established tradition
of painting largely or entirely concerned with specific places on the earth
and their "topography
".
In his article "The Topographical Tradition
", Bruce McElvoy states that the topographical tradition
is rooted in 18th-century British watercolour painting intended to serve practical as well as aesthetic purposes: "At the beginning of the 18th century, the topographical watercolor was primarily used as an objective record of an actual place in an era
before photography
."
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
describes a long-established tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
of painting largely or entirely concerned with specific places on the earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and their "topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
".
In his article "The Topographical Tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
", Bruce McElvoy states that the topographical tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
is rooted in 18th-century British watercolour painting intended to serve practical as well as aesthetic purposes: "At the beginning of the 18th century, the topographical watercolor was primarily used as an objective record of an actual place in an era
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
before photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
."