Page 135 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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vessels. 68 Note: these indications, however, say
nothing about the production date of the
painting. Because this subject has been
repeatedly copied, the representation of, say,
Macao, Canton or Whampoa, can be of a
situation from an earlier date and therefore can
deviate from the period when the painting was
actually made. In this sense, harbour views are
absolutely not indexical. There is no evidence to
suggest that a set of harbour views will always
134 have the same date. It is likely, however, that
Westerners never bought outdated views of
Canton or Macao, because these views changed
Fig. 4.38. Bark Pantalon
almost yearly. Architectural elements of the
at the roadstead of
hongs in Canton and the houses on the Praya
Hong Kong, inscription
Grande, new remarkable landmarks in the
recto: Pantalon. Kapt:
cityscapes, land reclamation, and the sort and
H: I: Van: Geyt ter
quantity of vessels in front of the quay, were
Reede. Hongkong april:
some of the aspects that determined a view of
1866, anonymous, oil
Canton or Macao up to date or not. A
on canvas, 1866, 45.5 x
representation of the more static views of Bocca
77.5 cm, National
Tigris and Whampoa, however, from a year ago
Maritime Museum 69
would not have been a problem.
Amsterdam, inv.no.
Besides visual geographical records of ports,
S.1388.
quays, wharfs and anchorages, a portrait of the
ship also became increasingly important to the
Fig. 4.39. Three-master
individual mariner. This subject is the ultimate
Cornelia, sailing near
example of a personal record, significant in the
to (opium smugglers)
context of the buyer’s own enterprises. In the
island Lintin,
nineteenth century, new emphasis on the
anonymous, oil on
achievements of the individual merchant-
linen, 1860-1862, 45.5 x
entrepreneur encouraged (visual) documentation
59.4 cm, Maritime
of his exploits. The navigators themselves
Museum Rotterdam,
became potential patrons of art and were ready
inv.no. P3815.
customers for Chinese goods and (stereotypical)
scenes of China. As a result, we find, as Baird
Fig. 4.40. Dutch screw
states in Liverpool China traders, “paintings
steamer at the
that no longer simply conformed to fashions
roadstead of Hong
prevalent in Europe, but which would stand as
Kong, inscription Zr.
records of their travels, personal and significant
Ms. Schroefstoomschip 70
in the context of their own enterprises.” waterfront architecture and ship design were
Vice-Admiraal
Furthermore, as Baird posits: “the painting of carefully recorded as they were of particular
Koopman ter reede van
his ship became a very popular export product; interest to the ship owners, private merchants
Hongkong, July 1863,
her faithful image was as personal a portrait as a and their families, who were likely purchasers.
anonymous, oil on 71
man could look for.” The details of national It is known that ships portraits, often depicting
canvas, 1863, 39 x 58.8
and company flags – as visible in Figure 4.38, a Western barque in full width, were painted
cm, Dutch Navy
Museum Den Helder,
---
inv.no. A/001/086.
68 The word ‘factory’ came from the Portuguese ‘feitoria’, and meant an establishment or agency for factors or
merchants doing business in foreign lands. Often, a factory consisted of buildings with multiple functions
(warehouse, office and living space). In terms of the treatment of the skies, in general, we can say that between
1760 and the first quarter of the nineteenth century, they all had a low horizon and were depicted as sleek and bare.
In many respects, they are reminiscent of the engravings of Western harbour views.
69 Dating aspects of paintings with a geographical and maritime topic is not relevant for Made for Trade and,
therefore, I do not elaborate on this issue. The research results of Connor (2009) and of Van Dyke & Mok (2015)
provide accurate information about the dating of these kinds of paintings.
70 Baird 2007, 106-107.
71 Ibid., 110.