Testing

TestingLandscape art is not just a depiction of a sense of nature, it can be taken as the medium of cultural and social expression. Imperial power might be an essential issue in the development of landscape tradition as the Western scholars, W.J.T. Mitchell have pointed out. European landscape genre indeed has a history of the expressing the ambitions of imperial powers. The genre emerges in the 17th century and arrives at its peak in the 19th century. During the process, it not only develops its poetics but also accompanies the development of European moderation.In China, the art of landscape painting is called shanshui. The genre was fully developed when European and Chinese cultures met in 17th century. Cross-cultural contacts influenced both European and Chinese practice of representing nature. After the 18th century, the conflicts of imperial powers in China and Europe dramatically raised. However, China’s internal social problems and changes in public attitudes also have affected the representation of landscape.Chinese landscape developed in relation with the power of emperor. In China, the Literati group of artists-scholars is the primary creative group of Chinese paintings. The dissertation discusses how the literati painters achieved balance between the development of art and social life, what ideas did they pursued in creating the landscape art, and how did imperial power influenced their works? What were the religious factors behind the culture of landscape art, and how the religious beliefs of Confucius, Tao, and Buddha were important and how they were coordinated with policies stemming from central government.In comparing Chinese and European landscape paintings, the analysis will follow the unique historical backgrounds of traditions, creative themes, and the problems they faced. This thesis will focus on Chinese landscape researches’ findings, when they emphasize the interaction with Europe and compared two landscape traditions. Finally, the thesis will follow the development of imperialism expressed in landscape painting, and on a more general level, it will strive to contribute to knowledge on visual cultures of different societies