Landscape 

Curator: Here we have a painting entitled "Landscape," created by Fujishima Takeji. It is rendered in oil paint, with broad strokes defining the landscape, leaning towards an Impressionistic style. Editor: Oh, I get a very serene, almost wistful feeling from it. The colors are so muted and soft. It's the kind of landscape that makes you want to sigh deeply and stare off into the distance, thinking about all the unanswered questions life throws at you! Curator: The application of paint here is quite interesting. Look at the layering, particularly in the foreground. You can really see how Takeji built up the texture to mimic the roughness of the cliffside. Note too, the way he moves from the close and built-up cliffs and foliage on the left of the canvas toward a vague impression of sea, sky, and faraway land. Editor: Absolutely! It feels like the brushstrokes themselves are mimicking the ruggedness of the landscape. Like, you can almost feel the wind whipping off the water just by looking at the choppy texture of the paint. Is it en plein air? Curator: Likely so. Notice the use of naturalism—a technique closely related to plein air painting where natural environment, local cultures and traditions were employed as subjects. The immediacy is palpable. Fujishima likely worked directly in front of the motif, allowing for those atmospheric effects to be captured. It’s very…raw, in a sense. A slice of lived experience, deftly translated. Editor: It definitely captures that fleeting moment. It is a shame the exact date of this artwork is not precisely known because I would have loved to know what Takeji felt when he painted this scene. I imagine him as a quiet, reflective man. Someone deeply connected to nature. Did the material and accessibility of his paints have influence on these landscapes? Curator: Undoubtably, the read availability of industrially produced oil paints was vital in enabling the impressionist style of plein air developed in Europe and spreading to other parts of the world like Japan. Before paint tubes it would have been very impractical to paint in this way! Editor: Right, absolutely, silly of me to ask. But I will hold to the point that standing before "Landscape" fills you with gentle melancholy. Almost as if it has captured some personal unspoken sadness. Curator: Yes, I see that. A product of materials and mood interplaying, then. Editor: Precisely.