Dutch winter landscapes based on Hendrick Avercamp by a Japanese artist

By Pearlie S. Pinkerton Last updated Jan 14, 2022

Dutch winter landscapes based on Hendrick Avercamp by a Japanese artist

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Time

Contemporary Japanese artist Sawako Utsumi loves Dutch art. This relates to the 16th and 17th centuries as this period was a golden age regarding the number of esteemed Dutch artists with unique styles. (all inspired by Dutch and Flemish Renaissance paintings). Consequently, Utsumi draws inspiration from and pays homage in his distinctive style to Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), Esaias van de Velde (1587-1630) and Aert van der Neer (1603-1677) in several works of art.

This article is based on Utsumi’s tribute to Avercamp. The National Museum says, “Hendrick Barentsz. Avercamp was a non-verbal (and probably deaf) artist known as “The Mute of Kampen” (from stom van Campen). He specialized in painting winter scenes. His paintings must have appealed to Dutch patriots because they represented the landscape and the life of the new Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

Utsumi adores many aspects of European and Japanese art. For example, the grace of rinpa art to the North of England artist LS Lowry. Landscapes and religious themes occur every time – regardless of Buddhism, Christianity or Shintoism.

The National Gallery of Art says, “In Amsterdam, Avercamp was influenced by the Flemish painters of Mannerist landscapes who lived in the city at the time, notably Gillis van Coninxloo III (Flemish, 1544 – 1607) and David Vinckboons (Dutch, 1576 – c.1632). Based on stylistic evidence, it is likely that one or both of these painters was Avercamp’s teacher, but no documentation of his apprenticeship exists.

utsumi (original from Avercamp above) provides his own color palette and thought patterns in his two artworks that pay homage to Avercamp. For example, in a work of art, she reduces the number of people to nine. This denotes the mathematical angle and infinity. Therefore, for Utsumi, the work of Avercamp – and others including Esaias van de Velde and Aert van der Neer – represents the “pass,” “gift,” and “future.”

Utsumi provides his northern Japanese artistic mindset and merges it with the rich cultural traits of Dutch art. From then on, a beautiful fusion of ideas emerges through the prism of his art.

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/hendrick-avercamp

https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.129.html

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sawako-utsumi/shop – Sawako Utsumi (you can buy many products ranging from art to mugs, much more)

http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi and her website