“The Oxbow”, a painting done by Thomas Cole in 1836, seems to be nothing more than a scene aintied from a very real, very physical landscape. Looking at the painting, it is hard to imagine that it had been developed from mere sketches and not at the site itself and not only that, but that certain details of the painting had never existed in real life to begin with. These details include Cole himself, set up with his easel, umbrella, and knapsack as well as the closest of the trees that are shown in the left of the panting. Possibly even the storm itself is no more than a figment that Cole created to add to his painting. “The Oxbow” Is a smooth blend consisting of what actually exists and fictitious elements that seem as though they could exist. In fact, they blend so well that the viewer may not even question that they are not real.
On the other hand there is the landscape created by the Chinese artist Wang Jian, called “White Clouds over Xiao and Xiang”. While this scroll completed in ink and color is just as beautiful as Cole’s landscape, “The Oxbow”, it is highly unlikely that this setting is a place actually exists and can be found in reality. It is easy to determine that the landscape is purely fictitious and created by Wang Jian’s imagination alone rather than using a real life setting as a starting point or the design.
Out of the two paintings, Thomas Cole’s is most definitely the more “real” or rather the more “believable”. In contrast, however, Wang Jian’s hanging scroll “White Clouds over Xiao and Xiang” creates its own unique setting and universe in order to allow our minds and eyes to explore, discover, and wonder while seeming to view the setting from a bird’s eye view.
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