Tracing Traditions
Tracing Traditions illustrates the compositional qualities and historical-cultural traditions in landscape painting
By demonstrating the origins and respective traditions of landscape painting, including both Western and Non-Western aesthetics, these artworks serve as a point of reference for the historical foundation of artistic landscapes. Each painting, watercolor, and print in this section challenges a particular narrative of what is considered “traditional” within the genre and the larger art canon, a confrontation between historical and contemporary works from a variety of artists, mediums, and stylistic approaches.
Albert Bierstadt, American, 1830-1902, Weeping Oaks, Clear Creek, California, 1880-82, Oil on canvas, 51 x 67.25 inches framed, University of Denver Art Collections, Gift of the Artist, 1891.001
Bierstadt’s landscapes focus attention to light in an effort to depict nature as grandiose and sublime in its power and expanse. A complex layering of foreground and background becomes apparent in this oil painting through the strategic placement of light and shadow. Technically trained in Germany with an interest in the American landscape during the age of western expansion, Bierstadt exemplifies the formal qualities of Western landscape traditions.
Hung Liu, Chinese American, born 1948, Mountain Ghost, c. 2014, Mixed media on canvas, 96 x 96 inches, The Madden Collection at the University of Denver, 2016.1.34
This contemporary landscape draws on both the Chinese tradition of contemporary application of paint and depiction of subject matter, though embedded in an abstract setting. The lack of a clear horizon line in this work challenges the use of the Western preference for a linear perspective to create a convincing and formidable space.
Lan-Yin (copy of), Chinese, Chinese Landscape Painting, 1800-1899, Ink on silk, 61 x 16 unframed, University of Denver Art Collections, Gift of Jean Chappell Cranmer, 1964.019
The verticality of this Chinese silk scroll is meant to evoke a sensation of monumentality. In a historical setting, this scroll was intended to be unrolled and viewed in sections rather than seen in its totality as viewed here. When viewed in sections, the visitor is not guided by a clear narrative but is instead allowed to take an individual journey through the painting. The viewing of the artwork was a ceremony, in and of itself.
Ando Hiroshige, Japanese, 1797-1858, The Temple Kiyomizu, 1951, Woodcut, 13.5 x 18 inches unframed, University of Denver Art Collections, 1994.299.09
Geza Vatsagh, Hungarian, 1866-1919, The Victor, 1896, Oil on canvas, 81.13 x 106.13 inches, The Madden Collection at the University of Denver, 2016.1.80
Egisto Ferroni, Italian, 1835-1912, Study for “In the Field,” 1881, Oil on canvas, 38.63 x 54 inches framed, The Madden Collection at the University of Denver, 2016.1.23
JMW Turner, English, 1775-1851, Destruction of Both Houses of Parliament, 1835, Watercolor on paper, 6 x 5 inches unframed, The Madden Collection at the University of Denver, 2016.1.77
Rendered with expressive motion and compositional tension embodied by the Romantic style in Britain at this time, this watercolor presents a landscape as setting for an emotionally charged scene. This expressive style contrasts against the calculated and conservative traditions of academic landscape painting seen in Bierstadt’s Weeping Oaks while highlighting the vibrancy and serenity of the Japanese woodcuts.
Ando Hiroshige, Japanese, 1797-1858, The Cherry Blossoms of Arashiyama, 1951, Woodcut, 13.5 x 18 inches unframed, University of Denver Art Collections, 1994.299.01
Printed with multiple layers of ink to achieve brilliant gradients of color, Japanese woodcuts use graphic qualities present idealized scenes of nature with a focus on harmony and serenity. Intimate and small-scale, these prints present nature in a contained and controlled way that can be contrasted with the more open composition of the Chinese hanging scroll.