Page 156 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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inspiration for Chinese river landscapes. Among shows trees in familiar spots to the right and left
them are Salomon van Ruysdael (c. 1600-1670), edge of the image, creating a repoussoir effect.
Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682), Meindert The deployed stylistic characteristics, the
Hobbema (1638-1709) and Esaias van de Velde displayed chiaroscuro and the black frame make
(1587-1630). Certainly, these seventeenth- the image unmistakably different from the
century painters were never in China themselves, traditional Chinese-style prints. I will leave the
but their style and choice of subjects – the river, quest to comb the various print cabinets for
the trees that dominate the riverscape, cattle, predecessors of these river landscape paintings
boats and the riverbanks – correspond closely to for future research. My aim for this study is to
those in the Chinese export oil paintings on shed new light on Chinese export paintings and
similar themes. Recall that art historians show the specific use value of the Dutch 155
recognise that, generally, both Van Ruysdael and collections, characterised by their commodity/
Van de Velde did not produce true-to-life export value with connected biographies, their
renderings of existing landscapes. They sought, materiality, and their historical and artistic
as was usual in the seventeenth century, to value.
surpass reality with their Italianate fantasy
landscapes and river scenes. 154 (Figures 4.73.a. The imperial court (reception in the palace garden
and 4.73.b.) We have no evidence for it, but it is and the emperor’s audience, inspection)
well possible that prints derived from landscapes The court and imperial scenes on copper
by these painters ended up in China, or that engravings, enamels, porcelain, lacquerwork,
Western river scenes on Chine de commande reverse glass paintings and oil paintings
(porcelain) products were connected to those on generally show figures in gardens with pavilions.
the paintings. In addition, since the eighteenth century, military
In addition to Western-style prints at the Qing victories and ceremonies at the court in China
court, there were many more channels in China
Fig. 4.74. Perspectival
that resulted in mutual Sino-European artistic
picture of the West,
interaction. Indeed, the multiple contact zones
Sun Yunqiu, History
that existed between China and Europe were
of Lenses (Jingshi),
mostly established, as Wang states, “through
woodblock print,
Catholic missionary work and the trade system
21 x 13.5 cm (artwork in
that allowed European goods to enter China the public domain).
through Canton.” 155 Furthermore, Wang’s
article traces a European landscape print (Figure
4.74.), revealing the subject and style of the lost
original or similar pictures that came from the
West. This woodblock print, entitled Perspectival
picture of the West (Xiyang yuanhua) is a
convincing trace of the body of prints that
entered China and were used by the Jesuit
priests. The print by Sun Yunqiu (c. 1630-c.
1662) appeared in the book published ca. 1680,
History of Lenses (Jingshi) as an example
promoting the viewing device with the special
lenses designed for seeing linear perspective. I
concur with Wang that this print “seems to be a
revised version of some European images,
revealing the subject and style of the lost original
or similar pictures that came from Europe.” 156
The composition of the river scene with the
clearly Western-style (Dutch?) architecture

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154 Many Dutch seventeenth-century painters were fascinated by the sun-drenched Italian countryside. That
southern land was the subject of their paintings: landscapes bathed in warm sunlight, with mountains and ruins.
The landscapes often features staffage figures as travellers, shepherds and cattle. These kinds of landscapes are
called ‘Italianate landscapes’.
155 Wang 2014-b, 379-394, 386.
156 Ibid.