Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did portable collapsible easels make outdoor landscape painting easier?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

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.

The invention of the portable, collapsible easel in the mid-19th century revolutionized landscape painting by enabling artists to move their practice out of the studio and into the natural environment.1

Before this innovation, artists typically relied on the studio to produce finished works, using the outdoors only for rough sketches. The introduction of the portable easel, combined with the invention of collapsible tin paint tubes in 1841, provided the necessary mobility for painters to study and capture their subjects firsthand. These tools allowed artists to work directly in the field, facilitating the rise of plein-air painting—a practice that became central to the Impressionist movement, as it allowed painters to record the immediate, fleeting effects of light and weather on the landscape.213