Although each of these concepts, the sublime, beautiful, picturesque, and romantic, had been widely circulated by the time the earliest travel writer visited the British West Indies, they proved resilient. Even the latest writers included in this study drew upon one or more concepts. As a result, there is little indication of a temporal shift or break during the course of this time period. Instead, the difference may be seen in the use of these terms with a shift from clearly defined characteristics to a much wider aesthetic sensibility. Overall, these aesthetic landscape concepts were employed in the description of landscapes the travel writers deemed visually interesting, unique, and certainly attractive. With the exception of some of the earliest travelers included in this study, whose landscapes of the mind were created by the specifications of the aesthetic concepts, the writers did not appear to have a specific mental image of Five Fingers KSO the landscape features or characteristics for each of the characteristics. In fact, they often used the terms interchangeably and even concurrently, in spite of their proposed differences. For example, Robert Baird (1849) used three of the four concepts in the description of one Jamaican landscape. He noted that “the eye is delighted by a succession of romantic scenes of singular formation and exceedingly picturesque beauty”.
This sensibility of the aesthetic landscape concepts also provides insight into the types of landscape experiences travelers and tourists had in the British West Indies during this time period. These concepts were intended to structure not only the way of viewing the landscape but also the reaction to Vibram Five Fingers Shoes the landscape. Consequently, when the writers attempted to abide by the rules of the concepts, they sought appropriate prospects based on the techniques of art and looked for certain characteristics in the landscape. Moreover, their reactions were to be predetermined. For example, Madden informed his readers that “terror is an ingredient that must always enter into the composition of the sublime and beautiful. Well, the sublime and beautiful were indeed mingled with the prospect we had before us”. Despite the highly controlled way of seeing and experiencing landscapes, the aesthetic concepts encouraged landscape appreciation as well as travel for landscape appreciation. As more people participated in landscape appreciation over time and in new places though, much of the original rules and meanings were eroded. People had greater freedom to view and react to the landscapes they experienced in a more personal and private way. Yet the terms’ popularity ensured their persistence, where they remained in use to represent the sensibility of aesthetically pleasing landscapes.
In the tradition of landscape that is traced back to art, it is frequently asserted that landscapes provide the means for personal contemplation and reaction to the natural environment. As such, Cosgrove (1998, p. 14) states, “The artistic use of landscape stresses a personal, private, and essentially visual experience.” However, this has not always been the case. From the late eighteenth century, landscape appreciation was increasingly recognized as an indication of educated sensibility. Writers like Edmund Burke and William Gilpin provided specific instructions on how to achieve this ability, and the social value that was placed on landscape appreciation ensured that people would follow these conventions. As a result, the development of aesthetic landscape concepts altered, for a time, the personal component in landscape experiences.

Share this page: