The picturesque, thought to be most rampant from about 1720 to 1830 still fascinates landscape architects and homeowners. Even today, you can see carefully preserved, or in many cases carefully
designed, spaces that reflect the idealized rural. One of the principal proponents of English Picturesque was Uvedale Price (1747-1829), who held that elements of the natural should be
encouraged and preserved, as opposed to forcing the landscape to submit to the intrusion of alien elements, a method endorsed by Lancelot (＂Capability＂) Brown. Price’s Essay on the Picturesque
of 1794 was a source of inspiration, and also a target of scorn, with adherents and detractors numbering in the thousands, ranging from Gainsborough to Voltaire, Wordsworth and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning. He influenced, and was influenced by, literature, art, and his estate, Foxley, in Herefordshire. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
