1. Summer Mountains, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), 11th century Attributed to Qu Ding (Chinese, active ca. 1023–ca. 1056)
Summer Mountains, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), 11th century Attributed to Qu Ding (Chinese, active ca. 1023–ca. 1056) Handscroll; ink and pale color on silk 17 7/8 x 45 3/8 in. (45.4 x cm) Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 ( )
Between 900 and 1100, Chinese painters created landscapes that "depicted the vastness and multiplicity" of creation itself. Viewers of these works are meant to identify with a human figure in the painting, allowing them to "walk through, ramble, or dwell" in the landscape. In this landscape, lush forests suffused with mist identify the time as a midsummer evening. Moving from right to left, travelers make their way toward a temple retreat, where vacationers are seated together enjoying the view. Above the temple roofs the central mountain sits majestically, the climax to man's universe. The advanced use of texture strokes and ink wash suggest that Summer Mountains, formerly attributed to Yan Wengui (active ca. 970–1030), is by a master working in the Yan idiom around 1050, a date corroborated by the presence of collectors' seals belonging to the Song emperor Huizong (r. 1101–25). Although there is no record of any painting by Yan Wengui in Huizong's collection, three works entitled Summer Scenery by Yan's eleventh-century follower Qu Ding are listed in the emperor's painting catalogue.
Source: Attributed to Qu Ding: Summer Mountains ( ) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2. Hudson River School

4. Bierstadt

5. Thomas Cole, "Hunter's Return" (1845)

7. John Marin Storm over Taos, 1930
John Marin Storm over Taos, 1930 Alfred Stieglitz Collection

8. Wind Among the Trees on the Riverbank dated 1363 Ni Zan (Chinese, 1306–1374) Hanging scroll, ink on paper 23 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. (59.1 x 31.1 cm) Source: Ni Zan: Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank ( ) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Forced to flee his hometown of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province to escape extortionary tax collectors, Ni Zan led a refugee's life between 1356 and 1366, residing with his family southwest of Suzhou at a place he nicknamed Snail's Hut. Compared to his Wuxi days, this was a wrenching change, but the family was able to settle down to an existence of "simple sustenance, harmony, and happiness." Ni's paintings and calligraphy from this period are more assured and relaxed; consequently, they sometimes appear sketchy—a quality the artist consciously sought.
Because Ni Zan painted virtually the same composition his entire life—a grove of trees on a rocky foreground shore juxtaposed with distant mountains—the subtle variations in each iteration reveal changes in his circumstances and state of mind. This desolate landscape, done for a fellow scholar-artist, Yu Kan, undoubtedly reflects Ni's bereavement at the recent death of his wife and his growing sense of isolation. His inscription reads:
On the riverbank the evening tide begins to fall; The frost-covered leaves of the windblown grove are sparse. I lean on my staff—the brushwood gate is closed and silent; I think of my friend—the glow is nearly gone from the hills.
Source: Ni Zan: Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank ( ) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

9. Thomas Cole, "American Lake Scene" (1844)
Can you see the solitary Indian contemplating the solitude?

10. Twin Pines, Level Distance, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), ca
Twin Pines, Level Distance, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), ca Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322) Handscroll: ink on paper 10 1/2 x 42 1/4 in. (26.7 x cm) Inscribed by the artist Ex coll.: C.C. Wang Family, Gift of The Dillon Fund, 1973 ( )
Zhao Mengfu, a leading calligrapher of his time, set the course of scholar-painting by firmly establishing its two basic tenets: renewal through the study of ancient models and the application of calligraphic principles to painting. In Twin Pines, Level Distance the landscape idiom of the Northern Song masters Li Cheng and Guo Xi has become a calligraphic style. Rather than simply describe nature as it appears to be, Zhao sought to capture its quintessential rhythms. The characteristics of rocks and trees, felt by the artist and acted out through his calligraphic brushwork, are imbued with a heightened sense of life energy that goes beyond mere representation.
In a long colophon on the far left of the scroll, the artist expresses his views on painting: "Besides studying calligraphy, I have since my youth dabbled in painting. Landscape I have always found difficult. This is because ancient [landscape] masterpieces of the Tang, such as the works of Wang Wei, the great and small Li [Sixun and Li Zhaodao] and Zheng Qian, no longer survive. As for the Five Dynasties masters Jing Hao, Guan Tong, Dong Yuan, and Fan Kuan, all of whom succeeded one another, their brushwork is totally different from that of the more recent painters. What I paint may not rank with the work of the ancient masters, but compared to recent paintings I daresay mine are quite different."
Source: Zhao Mengfu: Twin Pines, Level Distance ( ) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

11. Finches and Bamboo, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) Emperor Huizong (Chinese, 1082–1135; r. 1101–25) Handscroll; ink and color on silk 11 x 18 in. (27.9 x 45.7 cm) Inscribed with the cipher of the emperor John M. Crawford Jr. Collection, Purchase, Douglas Dillon Gift, 1981 ( )
Huizong, the eighth Song emperor and a rapacious collector of art objects, was a painter and calligrapher of great talent. In 1127, Huizong's capital at Bianliang (modern Kaifeng, Henan Province) was sacked by the Jurchen, and the emperor was carried off to the north; he died in captivity in 1135.
Finches and Bamboo illustrates the suprarealistic style of flower-and-bird painting preferred by Huizong's Imperial Painting Academy. In such works, the artist displayed his intimate knowledge of the appearance and growth of plants and his ability to render accurately the movements of birds as they hop about or stand poised ready for flight. Whether making a study from nature or illustrating a line of poetry, however, capturing the spirit of the subject was valued above mere literal representation. Here, the minutely observed finches are imbued with the alertness and sprightly vitality of their living counterparts. Drops of lacquer added to the birds' eyes impart a final lifelike touch.
Source: Emperor Huizong: Finches and Bamboo ( ) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

12. James Audobon

13. The Gulf Stream, 1899.  Winslow Homer Oil on canvas, photo 1994 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Look at the painting with a partner.  Talk about the painting together. What do you each like about it?
How does it make you feel?
What does it make you think of? Now consider movement: How does the artist use lines?
What shapes do you see?
Do some of the shapes repeat?
How do the lines show movement? Do the colors add to the feel of movement?