By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, May 22 (IANSlife): In a time before mass public transport, when the world moved at a slower pace and personal horizons were necessarily closer to home, art helped people explore and imagine the vast world from their own homes. A selection of paintings made between the 16th and 20th centuries, which will be sold online till June, allows viewers to voyage with artists and see cross-continental landscapes in art.

The online art sale, titled 'Out of Office: Art that Transports' by auction house Christie's, offers paintings that transport one to England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Greece, India, Lebanon, Hawaii and the Arctic Circle amongst other destinations depicted.

The auction includes Dutch landscapes from the Golden Age of the Republic, Italian city views, watercolours and drawings of the rolling bucolic British countryside, sun-drenched images of the Near East and sea-voyages to the Arctic, as well as taking some more fanciful journeys with capriccios and mythological woodlands. C.J. Martin's 1853 oil on canvas 'View in Calcutta' is also on sale.

According to organisers, the sale shows the continued power of art as the ultimate escape, as well as the close connection by artists to the world around them and the importance of close observation of our own and foreign cultures, landscapes and moments.

"Art has an important part to play in our wellbeing and has the ability via visual stimulus, to decrease stress and anxiety, taking us to another place or time. These works will take you round the world and back in time. It shows a great variety of nature, culture and terrain that has existed through the centuries. One of art's magical properties is escapism - away from the sofa to the shores of Hawaii or the deserts of the Levant," Olivia Ghosh, Specialist and Head of Sale said.