In the Search of Picturesque Landscapes : From Ancient Rome to Modern Paris

Planned Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

How are #picturesque landscapes made?

Dynamic panoramas of intertwining mountains and rivers, streets which retain traces of the Middle Ages, beautiful pastoral scenes reminiscent of a utopia - painters and printmakers have exercised their ingenuity to capture in a single image the landscapes spread out before them.
This exhibition explores Western landscape art from the 16th to the 19th centuries through printed images, as well as paintings, watercolors, books, photographs, and optical devices. It introduces the styles of landscape art through the ages, from depictions of the ruins of ancient Rome and Egypt to bustling fin-de-siècle Parisian street scenes, and the ways to enjoy them.

1. Engraved Landscapes: Prints Convey Regional Conditions

After spending many years as a background to the narrative, landscapes emerged as a central theme in painting around 1500. Not long after, they also came to be engraved in copperplates, and the state of various areas began to spread across Europe. These print landscapes, which dealt with topographical interests, exotic longings, and the artists' own artistic pursuits, might be seen as a reflection of people's views at the time.

Peter Bruegel the Elder's(1525/30-69)landscapes, depicting rugged mountains and meandering rivers, were made by professional engravers. On the other hand, Rembrandt van Rijn(1606-69)used the etching technique to explore expressions that were unique to the medium. In the 18th century, Canaletto's(1697-1768)detailed Italian landscapes enticed English people to embark on trips across the continent that came to be known as the Grand Tour. Giovanni Battista Piranesi(1720-78)also responded to travelers' desires with prints of famous sights in Rome and ancient ruins.



From Giovanni Battista Piranesi Roman Antiquities, published 1756-57
etching, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts





Hubert Robert (after), “Colonnades and Gardens of the Medici Palace”, 1776
Wash manner(etching, engraving), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts

2. Sophisticated Landscapes: How to Create a “Picturesque”

In 17th-century Rome, Claude Lorrain(1604/5-82)developed the notion of the “ideal landscape painting,” which envisioned an ancient Roman utopia. His refined scenic depictions were embraced by later generations of painters, and the popularity of these works reached a climax in 18th- and 19th-century England after nature succumbed to the Industrial Revolution.

At times, viewing a beautiful picturesuque landscape was simply intended as a means of embarking on a journey. This is evinced by the advent of travelers who walked around with tinted mirrors as a means of “filtering” the scenery in late 18th-century England. One of the painters who was informed by this theory was J.M.W. Turner(1775-1851), who gradually began to depict nuances in the light and atmosphere that he detected with his own eyes. In time, English artists' vibrant approach to landscapes spread to France, where it was adopted by Jean-Baptiste-Cammile Corot(1796-1875)and other painters of the Barbizon school.



Joseph Mallord William Turner, “Merrick Abbey, Swaledale”, 1816 -17
watercolor, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts

3. Published Landscapes:Traveling around the World and through Time

The new technology of lithographs, which enabled artists to print the images they depicted in their original form, became prevalent in the 19th century. Travelogues and illustrared books allowed people to enjoy traveling through time from ancient Egypt to medieval France. While these images piqued interest in distant lands, it also fueled new interest in Western landscapes, which had fallen into neglect.

Description of Egypt, a comprehensive account of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, was a monumental magnum opus, which benefitted the start of the 19th century. French readers were drawn to the sight of ancient ruins rising out of the bleak desert landscape, sparking an Egyptian boom. Picturesque and romantic journeys in ancient France, a series of books that Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor(1789-1879)began publishing in 1820, was fitted out with huge lithographs depicting attractive scenes with vestiges of the Middle Ages. Taylor’s focus on buildings that had been devastated in the revolutionary era later inspired a movement to protect cultural properties.



Section on “Ancient Normandy”
from Picturesque and romantic journeys in ancient France, Baron Taylor et al.(eds.), published 1820
lithograph, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts





From Théodore-Joseph-Hubert Hoffbauer, Paris Through the Ages, 1885
color lithograph, Kashima Collection (deposited at Nerima Art Museum) (exhibited during the first phase)

4. Enjoyable Landscapes: Prints, Photographs, and Optical Devices

The rise of photography in the late 19th century deprived printmaking of its privileged status as the sole reproduction technique. In this era in which landscape photography gained ground and the print medium was replaced by devices such as panoramas and dioramas, a group of artists emerged who were committed to reviving prints.

The works of Paris-resident print artists, who vividly depicted lively scenes on the banks of the Seine and the city’s boulevards, enjoyed great popularity. At the same time, stereo viewers, which enabled users to enjoy three-dimensional landscapes, became all the rage popular around 1860. Photography-based devices such as these made it easy to appreciate realistic scenes. Meanwhile, the Societé des Aquafortistes was founded to counteract the surge of photography. The group championed the artistic value of etchings as “original” works that were etched by the artist alone. Other artistic pursuits were undertaken by artists such as Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) and Félix Buhot (1847-98) in the medium of copperplate prints with highly nuanced works that depicted the ever-changing expressions of nature.




Camille Pissarro, “A Rye Field, Hill of Gratte-Coqus, Pontoise”, 1877
oil painting, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art


Visiting Information

























Duration Saturday, April 24 – Sunday, June 27, 2021
*Some of the exhibits will be replaced during the exhibition period.
First phase: until Sunday, May 23; second phase: from Tuesday, May 25
Closed days Mondays
* However, the exhibition will be open on Monday,
May 3 (a national holiday), and closed on Thursday, May 6
Opening hours Weekdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.)
Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (last entry 5 p.m.)
Venue Special Exhibition Rooms 1 & 2, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts
Sponsors The Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences
Accredited Program Machida City Cultural Program
Admission fees General public ¥900 (¥700)
University and senior high school students ¥450 (¥350)
Free for those of junior high school age and younger
*Fees shown in parentheses are for groups of 20 or more
*Half price for visitors who bring a Physical Disability Certificate, Rehabilitation Certificate, or Mental Disability Certificate, and one person accompanying them.
Free admission days (planned) First day of the exhibition: Saturday, April 24
Silver Days (free admission for those aged 65 and over): Wednesdays, April 28, May 26 and June 23

Discount Information

If you share a picture of the landscape around the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts on Twitter, Instagram, or other social media with the hashtags “#picturesque landscapes” and “#Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts”, you will get 100 yen off the price of your ticket!














Repeater discount Flat discount: 200 yen off
Please present your ticket stub at the ticket booth.
Taxi discount Flat discount: 100 yen off
Please present a taxi receipt issued on the day at the ticket booth.
*Discount is given to one person per receipt.
Passport discount Flat discount: 100 yen off
Please present the front cover of your non-Japanese passport at the ticket booth.
Shared-cycle discount Flat discount: 100 yen off
Please present the usage history page of the shared-cycle app at the ticket booth.
*About shared-cycle ▶[click here]

Related Events

Lectures and talks illustrated by slides will be held in the auditorium on the first floor of the museum (capacity: 60 people).
For events indicated by a ★ , numbered tickets will be issued at the reception desk on the first floor from 12:00 on the day of the event.
Please make your way to the auditorium after obtaining an admission ticket valid that day.

Commemorative Lecture 1: The Landscapes of Paris

Lecturer: Shigeru Kashima (expert on French literature)
Date and time: 14:00 - 15:30, Saturday, May 8
Application period: From 12:00, Thursday, April 8 to 19:00, Sunday, April 25 (first come, first served)
How to apply: Machida City’s EVESYS website (event code: 201408A), or Event Dial (Tel. 042-724-5656)

Commemorative Lecture 2: Claude Lorrain and Paintings of Ideal Landscapes - from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Centuries★

Lecturer: Yukitaka Kohari (former professor, Shizuoka University of Art and Culture)
Date and time: 14:00 - 15:30, Saturday, May 29

Live art creation: the making of #picturesque fine copperplate engravings

Lecturer: Yutaka Ozaki (printmaker)
Date and time: 13:30 - 16:00, Saturday, May 15
Venue: First floor entrance
Capacity: 15 people seated, 15 people standing (first come, first served)
Free admission

Promenade Concert: A Journey of Singing ✈ Around Western Europe through Song

Performers: Hiroki Okumura (tenor), Itaru Udonishi (piano)
Date and time: (1) From 13:00 (2) From 15:00, Saturday, June 5 (each concert lasts around 30 minutes)
Venue: First floor entrance
* Each performance is limited to the first 75 people to arrive. Details will be posted on our events page as soon as they are confirmed.

Special Showing for Babies: Museum of Graphic Arts in your Home

Lecturer: Megumi Tomita (Representative Director of the NPO Baby to Art Friendship Association)
Date and time: 10:0011:00, Wednesday, June 9
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Target audience: children from birth to two years old, and their guardians
Capacity: 15 pairs (first come, first served)
Participation fee: free
Application period: From Friday, May 7 to Monday, June 7
*Details of how to apply will be posted as soon as they are confirmed.

Talks by the Curator, Illustrated by Slides ★

(1) Sunday, May 2
(2) Sunday, June 20; 14:00 - 14:45 each day

* The dates of the exhibition phases, the free admission days, and so on may be altered depending on the circumstances.
Please check our museum’s website or SNS before visiting.

See also

>Artist in Machida: KADOSAKA Ryu


町田市立国際版画美術館 〒194-0013 東京都町田市原町田4-28-1 連絡先 電話 042-726-2771/0860/2889