Depicted as majestic and daunting, the homes of gods, goddesses and mysterious monsters, mountains have a rich history within the context of art making. A major aspect of nature-based art, mountain ranges are often the backdrop for expansive landscape scenes, looming in the distance of ink drawings, oil paintings and murals. The tradition of depicting mountains has a long relationship to Eastern culture, in particular the Ancient cultures of modern day Korea, Japan and China. Mount Fuji, one of Japan’s most prominent peaks, has been featured in hundreds of works throughout history, such as Katsushika Hokusai’s series of block prints …
Depicted as majestic and daunting, the homes of gods, goddesses and mysterious monsters, mountains have a rich history within the context of art making. A major aspect of nature-based art, mountain ranges are often the backdrop for expansive landscape scenes, looming in the distance of ink drawings, oil paintings and murals. The tradition of depicting mountains has a long relationship to Eastern culture, in particular the Ancient cultures of modern day Korea, Japan and China. Mount Fuji, one of Japan’s most prominent peaks, has been featured in hundreds of works throughout history, such as Katsushika Hokusai’s series of block prints Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji. Certain religious art also has an association with mountains, as they represented an important aspect of nature-based spirituality. Many modern artists continue to explore mountains as a theme, including American photographer David Benjamin Sherry, Hiroji Kubota, and Georgia O’Keeffe, whose paintings captured the beauty of the New Mexico desert mountains in rich sunset colors.