Abstract Landscape Paintings
Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Pastel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Enamel
Artist Comments
Vibrant sunset colors fill the composition as random forms intersect with geometric grid lines. Artist Janet Hamilton used palette knives to give the piece a ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"An artwork can influence the mood of any space, and this painting sets a calm atmosphere," says artist Ronda Waiksnis. A trailing, serene path meanders throu...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Paper, Sumi Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Board, Encaustic, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Metal
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main paints a vast Tuscan countryside. A field of red poppies dazzles in the foreground as masses of impossibly bright yellow rapeseed flourish in the background. Mandy paints the nearby hills shrouded in vibrant blues and greens as the far mountains recede into the distance with gray tones. She suggests natural elements throughout the scene with loose brushwork.
About the Artist
Mandy Main is an art historian and landscape painter based in the Southern California desert. She has long been passionate about 19th Century American landscape paintings...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Soft grays, wisps of blue, and glimmers of gold leaf suggest a dreamlike threshold between Earth and sky. Inspired by the Kármán Line—the boundary where our...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Waves lap and crash upon rocks in this peaceful end-of-day seascape. Artist Elizabeth Garat takes inspiration from the movement of light off of California's b...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Fabric, Textile, Canvas, Linen, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Clay, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Pastel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Metal
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Pastel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Resin, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Pastel
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Late 20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Pastel
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This painting captures a serene landscape where a river gently winds through lush, verdant fields. Artist Ronda Waiksnis uses a muted palette of greens and bl...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Landscape Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Landscape Paintings
Acrylic, Cardboard