plate no. 9967

Distant View of Mount Fujiyama, Japan, and Wistaria

oilNaturalismlandscapewisteriamountainwaterboatsskylandscape

recreation guide

Marianne North’s 'Distant View of Mount Fujiyama, Japan, and Wistaria' (1876) is a landscape painting executed in oil, characterized by a naturalistic style that documents specific botanical and topographical features. As a landscape, it depicts natural scenery including mountains and vegetation, arranged into a coherent composition where the sky and weather are likely integral elements (Source 3). North’s work is grounded in the tradition of depicting actual, specific places with varying degrees of accuracy, often functioning as a topographical view that captures the special nature of the landscape visited (Source 4). The artwork reflects the 19th-century interest in landscape art intensified by Romanticism, though North’s approach is more documentary than mystical, focusing on the accurate representation of flora and distant vistas.

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Linen canvas	Support for oil painting, consistent with historical standards	Primed linen or cotton canvas
Linseed oil	Primary drying oil for mixing pigments and creating paint film	Refined linseed oil
Oil paints (various pigments)	To create the naturalistic colors of the landscape, including greens for wistaria and blues/greys for the mountain and sky	Standard tube oil paints
Siccative (optional)	To accelerate drying time if needed, historically used with lead compounds but modern alternatives exist	Cobalt or zirconium-based siccatives
Varnish	For final glazing or protection, as mentioned in historical oil painting practices	Dammar or synthetic resin varnish

preparation

surface prep

The support is likely linen, as linen is a common support for oil painting derived from the flax plant (Source 1). The surface would be prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting, ensuring it is stable and receptive to the paint layers. While specific ground recipes for North are not detailed in the sources, standard 19th-century practice involved a chalk or gypsum-based ground on linen.

underdrawing

The sources do not explicitly describe Marianne North’s underdrawing methods. However, given her naturalistic and documentary style, a precise underdrawing would likely be used to map the topographical features and botanical details accurately before applying paint. This is inferred from the genre’s emphasis on accuracy (Source 3).

underpainting

Historical oil painting techniques often involved a monochrome underpainting, such as a grisaille, to establish values before adding color (Source 2). While not explicitly confirmed for North, this method was practiced by old masters and could be employed to manage the complex lighting and atmospheric perspective of a distant mountain view. The grisaille would be allowed to dry completely before glazing (Source 2).

color palette

White

Lead white historically, or titanium/zinc white today

Highlights and atmospheric haze, as lighter colors were often formulated with oils that yellow less (Source 1)

Greens

Various green pigments mixed with linseed oil

Wistaria and vegetation, requiring accurate naturalistic representation

Blues/Greys

Ultramarine or other blue pigments mixed with white and black

Mount Fujiyama and sky, capturing the distant, atmospheric view

Earth tones

Ochres, umbers

Foreground elements and landforms

composition

The composition likely features a wide view with Mount Fujiyama as a prominent distant element, consistent with the definition of landscape painting where the main subject is a wide view with elements arranged coherently (Source 3). The sky is almost always included, and weather conditions are part of the composition (Source 3). The arrangement reflects a topographical view, aiming to depict an actual specific place with accuracy (Source 3).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the composition on the prepared linen canvas, focusing on the accurate placement of Mount Fujiyama and the wistaria.
Tip — Ensure proportions reflect the distant view accurately.
Topographical sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) to establish light and shadow values, mentally extracting red and yellow tones as per historical practice.
Tip — Allow the grisaille to dry completely before proceeding.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Begin applying oil paint, mixing pigments with linseed oil or other drying oils to achieve desired consistency.
Tip — Use linseed oil for general purposes, but consider safflower or poppyseed oil for lighter colors to prevent yellowing (Source 1).
Oil mixing

refining

step 04
Glaze and scumble to add color and depth. Glazing involves applying a transparent coat of color, while scumbling uses semi-opaque paint to allow the underlying layer to show through.
Tip — Glazing can be done with oil or varnish and oil mixed, similar to tinting an engraving (Source 2).
Glazing and Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Refine details of the wistaria and mountain, ensuring naturalistic accuracy. Adjust colors based on simultaneous contrast principles to harmonize the composition.
Tip — Be aware that colors may appear different due to adjacent hues; adjust accordingly (Source 8).
Simultaneous Contrast

varnishing

step 06
Apply a final varnish to protect the painting and enhance color depth, if desired.
Tip — Ensure the painting is completely dry before varnishing.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Glazing

Applying a transparent coat of color over a dry underpainting to build up luminosity and depth, a method practiced by old masters (Source 2).

Scumbling

Using semi-opaque paint to create texture and allow the underlying layer to influence the final color, useful for creating atmospheric effects like a grey bloom (Source 2).

Simultaneous Contrast

Considering how adjacent colors affect each other’s appearance to harmonize the composition and accurately depict light modifications (Source 8).

common pitfalls

→Using linseed oil for white pigments, which can lead to yellowing over time; lighter colors should be mixed with safflower, walnut, or poppyseed oil (Source 1).
→Ignoring the drying time of the underpainting; glazing should only be done when the grisaille is quite dry (Source 2).
→Failing to account for simultaneous contrast, leading to inaccurate color perception and disharmonious composition (Source 8).
→Overworking the paint before it is dry, which can ruin the glazing and scumbling effects (Source 2).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific pigments used by Marianne North for this painting are not detailed in the sources.
·Exact dimensions and aspect ratio of the original artwork are not provided.
·North’s specific underdrawing materials (e.g., charcoal, chalk) are not mentioned.
·The specific varnish type or final protective layer used by North is not specified.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Grisaille, glazing, and scumbling techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Color harmony and simultaneous contrast principles

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 4 — applied to Materials, drying oils, and pigment handling
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- part 1 — applied to Definition of landscape, topographical views, and composition elements
- part 7 — applied to Context of 19th-century landscape painting and North’s documentary style