Conversations between Dutch and East Asian Landscape Paintings

    While landscape painting only rose to prominence in the West during the 17^th century thanks to the Dutch golden age, landscape painting had already established itself as a major genre in Japanese and Chinese art since the 11^th century. One may ask why it took so long before the West embraced landscape painting. Quite simply, it was considered inferior to many other genres because it appeared to be just a direct representation of what was seen. A painting seemingly without selection, reasonableness or artistic discernment, landscape painting was nothing much other than a mirror of reality, according to many Western artists such as Michelangelo.

    However, the Dutch Reformation and painters like Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Van Mander, who gave meticulous detail to the world around them, birthed a newfound respect for landscape painting in the West. Given the similar genre both traditions share, one may ask, how do the East Asian landscape paintings compare to their Dutch counterpart that develops much later.

    Surprisingly, notwithstanding the different cultural and religious motivations for which Dutch and East Asian landscape paintings were painted, there is a recurring theme that persists amidst the evolution both traditions undergo as time progresses. Be it the use of selective naturalness or the use of references to old masters, both traditions strive to create an immersive experience that overwhelms the viewer with nature, usually through space. How do artists from both traditions, coming from very different religious, cultural and philosophical backgrounds, depict the grandeur of nature in their unique ways for very different purposes? Presented are 6 paintings selected from different time periods in both traditions to explore how this theme is portrayed.

Guo Xi, Clearing Autumn Skies over Mountains and Valleys, mid-11^th to early 12^th century, ink and color on silk, 25.9 by 205,6 cm, Freer Gallery of Art (National Museum of Asian Art)

As summer gives way to autumn, brightness and joyfulness fades away, replaced by a certain gloom and solemness. Guo Xi captures the spirit of this seasonal change. Using a subtle graduation of ink and layered ink wash, Guo Xi creates the illusion of space as the value of the ink gradually decreases from the foreground to the background. The monochromic nature of the painting and the contrast in brushwork gives the painting its melancholic mood. Furthermore, the fading mountains in the background depicts the expansive vastness of the scene. Guo Xi believed that capturing the mood is the magic of painting that transports the viewer to the very scene and he prepared himself to accomplish this by meditating before each painting.  

Sesson Shukei, Landscape of the Four Seasons, c. 1560, 6-panel screen; ink and light colors on paper, 156.5 by 337 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago

Similar to the painting by Guo Xi, the space into the background is extended by decreasing value of the ink. Here, Sesson Shukei, a Zen Buddhist monk, paints an idealized landscape where the season progresses from the plum blossoms on the screens to the right (spring) to the snow-covered mountains to the left (winter). A temple on the misty mountains alongside a vibrant village life surrounding an inlet where boats come and go is pictured. The idealized landscape portrays a taste of paradise, where nature, religion and regular routine are in harmony. The folds in the screen stretches the space horizontally and the seasons represents the cyclical nature of the natural world. 

Cornelius Vroom, A Landscape with a River by a Wood, 1626, Oil on oak, 31.2 by 44.2 cm, National Gallery

Vroom paints a wood encircled by a curved river with low vegetations along the bank. Instead of imitating traditional landscape paintings by having trees frame the subject matter, the wood becomes the subject matter. Although the wood occupies most of the painting, the combination of the low horizon, relative sizes of shrubs and trees and the reflection of the sky on the surface of the river create depth and space. Using the low point of view, Vroom depicts the impressive spaciousness of the natural world. 

Jacob van Ruisdael, Country Road with Cornfields and Oak Tree, 1660, Oil Paint, 52.0 by 60.0 cm, Uffizi Gallery

Similar to the painting by Vroom, a group of trees are encircled but this time, by a muddy path. There is a couple strolling along the path, a boy sitting on a rock and shepherds watching over sheep. Once again, using a low horizon and a big sky, Van Ruisdael extends the background to create a large space. Here, the tall dark tree acts as the ‘heroic figure’, with its huge trunk rooted mightily and its branches expanding out into the sky, a common motif in Van Ruisdael’s earlier paintings. He accentuates the dramatic effects by using value to create contrast. The dark clouds form a circle above the silhouette of the tree and casts shade over most of the foreground. Consequently, the dark branches of the tree stand in contrast with the light blue sky, emphasizing its grandeur. 

Yuan Jiang, The Palace of Nine Perfections (清 袁江 九成宮圖 屏), 1691, set of 12 hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk, overall: 239.4 by 579.1 cm, 1982.125a-I

Combining a set of 12 rectangular hanging scrolls painted individually, Yuan Jiang depicts an imperial retreat in the misty mountains destroyed by the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Palace of Nine Perfections is widely regarded as one of the most splendid and vast residences ever built. Unlike Shukei’s landscape that unfolds over time from right to left, it communicates grandeur through scale, enveloping the eye. It’s worth noting to that although the painting is not monochromic, he uses a similar technique to Guo Xi by using animated brushworks to create a darker value to represent forms with large masses, like trees and mountains. In contrast to Dutch paintings that utilize a low horizon to open up the space, East Asian paintings such as this utilize a more aerial view to demonstrate the vastness. 

Jacob van Ruisdael, Wheat Fields, ca. 1670, Oil on canvas, 100 by 130.2 cm, 14.40.623

Depicted is a storm brewing over a winding dirt road that leads to a coastal village. Along the path, there are giant patches of wheat covering majority of the landscape and at the background, there are shepherds tending to flocks of sheep, just like van Ruisdael’s previous painting and two or three ships out at sea. Here we see the opening up of the landscape, with clouds of a wide variety of shapes and textures flooding the sky, a development in van Ruisdael’s later paintings. Using the interplay between light and shadow, van Ruisdael hides neither the gloom nor the decay that time brings. Instead, he embraces it, reflecting the typical Dutch Protestant view of nature which expressed how the physical world has innate worth without being idealized.