Page 188 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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not the practice of Chinese export painters.
Style, composition and formal aspects The choice for the combination of a (Western)
In the three geographical paintings, each one a linear perspective with the familiar (Chinese)
characteristic example of early Chinese export aesthetic quality of multi-perspective was
painting, the painter demonstrates an awareness probably deliberate. Moreover, applying this
of the concept of ‘Western perspective’, an multiperspectivism comes close to the Chinese
important aspect that the Chinese painters of practice of painting handscrolls and the way of
these and comparable views had to master. This reading them. An explanation for this eclecticism
set is a characteristic example of early versions is, and I concede with Mok on this point, that
of this genre, because of stylistic (a sense of they did not want to skimp on any details. 64
Western landscape painting style with three By applying the Chinese way of painting and the 187
quarters of the canvas occupied with an empty inconsistent use of Western perspective rules,
sky with little depth), compositional export painters accentuated a great degree of
(comparable compositions of these kinds of detail in their representations of their subjects,
harbour views from this early period – 1770s – which often resulted in a strange, mysterious,
appear broadly identical) and formal aspects incoherent, and certainly also fascinating
(mounting of paper on canvas). atmosphere. It is partly for this mixture of
In View of the Quay of Canton, the artist painting styles that these kinds of works were
used the worm’s eye view – the horizon is low, (and are again) so highly appreciated.
immediately above the bottom edge of the If we compare different images of the quay at
picture. The scene is rendered with central Canton with one another, it seems that compo-
perspective from a low standpoint. In View of sitions from a particular period are broadly
Macao an attempt was made to employ a bird’s- identical. In many respects, the placement of
eye view. This is not entirely successful; for buildings and boats are the same, but there are
example, the horizon should be higher. The differences in details, in the representation of
viewer does, however, look down from the flags, windows, doors and pillars. It seems that a
centre and, as a result, the depicted scene is template was used for the rough outline of
easily visible. This is probably a well-chosen buildings and the positioning of boats and that,
composed viewpoint. In this way the painter subsequently, Chinese painters meticulously
could show the viewers as much details as painted the details to keep the depicted scene as
possible. The accurate details of the topo- current as possible in order to maximise the
graphical early View of Macao can almost be possibility of sale.
compared with cartographical elements of a This special construction, whereby the images
map. The dark foreground in the depictions of are first painted on paper and subsequently
Macao and Whampoa reinforces the perspectival pasted onto the canvas, and – above all – the
image, as do the vessels by the quay of Canton, underdrawing discovered during the restoration,
carefully placed in the composition. The vast sky deviates in several aspects from the norm. The
in the paintings displays little depth and minimal sparsely applied oil paint on the three harbour
drawing, a painting style employed between views, which gives a gouache-style appearance,
1760 and the first quarter of the nineteenth gives all three the same structure. The paint is so
century, when all skies of these kinds of harbour delicate that some details can only be seen with a
views were painted with a low horizon: bare and magnifying glass. An underdrawing in a water-
sleek. Furthermore, there is clearly no question colour medium on the View of the Quay of
of a strictly applied linear perspective, but rather Canton, probably applied with a brush, was
a combination of Chinese and Western style discovered in infrared photographs. Changes
techniques. The question is whether this is a relative to the underdrawing were made in the
result of incompetence and ignorance or of a final painting. In the top right hand corner in the
difference of opinion about aesthetic values? As infrared photograph a little boat is visible in the
Wang et al. and Van Dyke & Mok posit, it looks underdrawing, behind the mast. (Figure 5.24.) In
like the Chinese painter might have tried to the final result (Figure 5.25.) this boat has
avoid the problems associated with the use of disappeared. This indicates that the anonymous
linear perspective, whereby the vanishing points painter, who seemed to have struggled to find
of horizontal lines should meet at one point on the right composition for his work, was seeking
the horizon of these harbour views. 63 This was an accurate representation. This discovery

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63 Van Dyke & Mok 2015, 49. Wang et al. 2011, 9.
64 Mok 2014, 23-43.