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How did atmospheric perspective create depth in Claude Lorrain's landscapes?

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van de Velde, Adriaen: River Landscape in the Late Afternoon — Landscape painting *River Landscape in the Late Afternoon*, oil on canvas by Adriaen van de Velde, 1663; in a private collection.

In the context of landscape painting, Claude Lorrain utilized atmospheric perspective as a primary technique to enforce a sense of recession and depth within his compositions.1

He achieved this effect through a gradual, systematic diminishing of both the distinctness of outlines and the intensity of color as the viewer's eye moves from the foreground to the background. By softening these visual elements in the distance, Claude mimicked the way the atmosphere naturally obscures and blurs objects that are further away from the observer.12

This technique was further enhanced by his masterful handling of light. By placing the sun near the horizon—often in scenes of dawn or evening—he created a luminous atmosphere that helped define the spatial relationships between the foreground, middle ground, and distant horizon. This approach allowed him to guide the viewer's eye through his idealized landscapes, creating a harmonious and poetic sense of vast, receding space.1