Seminar 4: Malcolm Andrews's The Search for the Picturesque: Landscape Aesthetics and Tourism in Britain, 1760-1800

At this event, we will discuss the British cultural historian Malcolm Andrews’ The Search for the Picturesque: landscape aesthetics and tourism in Britain, 1760-1800. The book reveals an intriguing paradox: the British upper class of the 18th century adopted tools like the “Claude glass” to frame wild and rugged landscapes as scenes more in line with classical beauty ideals, i.e., “picturesque.” We’ll discuss how formalized “ruins” became an aesthetic element, how Edmund Burke’s philosophy of beauty and excellence shaped early tourism, and how “picturesque” became a cultural display of the emerging class to demonstrate their taste and social status. We will also break down the mechanism behind the formation of observing landscapes through this lens, and how culture and history shaped the concept of the “viewing,” permanently transforming people’s relationship with nature.