| Entitled "Distant View of Guangzhou", the painting at the top was created by John Nieuhoff in 1655. It captures a view of Guangzhou's export port scene. The lower painting, entitled "View of the City of Guangzhou from Pearl River", is a typical example of many Chinese export port scenes in the 18th and 19th centuries characterised by a low horizon and a sweeping sky, placing the viewer somewhere in mid-air, far away from the shore. The style is obviously influenced by the viewpoint and exacting details of Dutch port scenes of the late 17th and 18th centuries, like those in the upper painting. The major difference lies in the water craft. In the Western work, the vessels are depicted with greater variety in types, sizes, positioning and foreshortening.
|
