Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I
- Part II
- Chapter 4 The Sublime and the Picturesque in the Irish Landscape
- Chapter 5 Picturesque Tourist Sites in Ireland
- Chapter 6 The Tourist Experience
- Chapter 7 Killarney—A Case Study of the Irish Tourist Experience
- Part III
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 4 - The Sublime and the Picturesque in the Irish Landscape
from Part II
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I
- Part II
- Chapter 4 The Sublime and the Picturesque in the Irish Landscape
- Chapter 5 Picturesque Tourist Sites in Ireland
- Chapter 6 The Tourist Experience
- Chapter 7 Killarney—A Case Study of the Irish Tourist Experience
- Part III
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Landscape Perception and the Visual Imagination
Today's tourists are part of a global culture increasingly dominated by television and computer screens. They often carry electronic devices in their pockets with which they can take pictures when not making phone calls. It may come as something of a surprise, therefore, to realize that by the late eighteenth century British tourists may have possessed an even more acute visual awareness than their modern-day counterparts.Without the benefit (or hindrance) of a camera, these travelers knew how to recognize, frame and even analyze the scenery they encountered. Many could sketch, paint or write detailed descriptions of what they had seen.
Within the context of tourism this visual acuity represented a relatively new phenomenon. The idea of travelling to “see” scenery had only begun to emerge late in the seventeenth century. Up to that time the early modern traveler sought education rather than pleasure. As discussed in the “Introduction,” the Grand Tour originally enabled young aristocratic males to prepare themselves to serve the state. In search of knowledge and social polish, young travelers went abroad, writes Judith Adler, “for discourse rather than for picturesque views or scenes.” Young men toured with a tutor, a.k.a. “bear leader,” with whom they inspected great buildings and fortifications, met learned men, practiced their social skills, and admired works of art. (They also did other things as well whenever they managed to lose the bear leader.)
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Creating Irish TourismThe First Century, 1750–1850, pp. 69 - 88Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2010