Mario Jung

Born in Seoul, South Korea on September 14, 1949, Myung “Mario” Jung began his promising career as a professional artist in the mid 1980’s. Graduating from the Seoul Industrial Junior College in 1971, Mario longed for his artistic talents to take flight and in 1986 he entered the Exhibition of Fine Art of the Seoul Artists Association where he was awarded the Grand Prize of Western style painting. Due to this immediate success, Mario was invited to become a member of the Seoul Artists Association, which he has now been a member of for over 30 years. His life changed dramatically when he was paralyzed, blinded and deafened as side effects from a catastrophic, third-story, balcony fall. Not even interested in food, Mario was giving up until he had a spiritual dream that renewed his strength and his will to live. Leaving doctors, family, and friends amazed and perplexed, Mario recovered completely and has since meticulously developed his flexible artistic style. His multi-faceted talents allow him to create richly colored landscapes, brimming with texture and warmth, often require the use of up to 12 tubes of oil paint. Brushstrokes announced by fields of color and thick paint bring viewers to the setting sun across the spanning poppies or nestle them safely under a shaded tree. In contrast, his realistic paintings (nu realism) create subtlety and sensuality as peaceful fish dance through their aquarium or pears reflect across a stark black canvas. Truly a talented artist, Mario’s emerging popularity is heightened by his ability to create such a diverse range of work. His paintings continue to grow in popularity and value. Collectors of the paintings of Mario now span several continents including over 20 states in the U.S., his native Korea, Germany and Spain, thus gaining international recognition at a still young age. Mario now spends his free time volunteering with the Salvation Army.

It could be argued that cave walls were the canvases for the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict and elevate natural scenery through art, but there is a richer history to consider.

The Netherlands was home to landscapes as a major theme in painting as early as the 1500s, and ink-on-silk paintings in China featured mountains and large bodies of water as far back as the third century. Greeks created vast wall paintings that depicted landscapes and grandiose garden scenes, while in the late 15th century and early 16th century, landscapes were increasingly the subject of watercolor works by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo.

The popularity of religious paintings eventually declined altogether, and by the early 19th century, painters of classical landscapes took to painting out-of-doors (plein-air painting). Paintings of natural scenery were increasingly realistic but romanticized too. Into the 20th century, landscapes remained a major theme for many artists, and while the term “landscape painting” may call to mind images of lush, grassy fields and open seascapes, the genre is characterized by more variety, colors and diverse styles than you may think. Painters working in the photorealist style of landscape painting, for example, seek to create works so lifelike that you may confuse their paint for camera pixels. But if you’re shopping for art to outfit an important room, the work needs to be something with a bit of gravitas (and the right frame is important, too).

Adding a landscape painting to your home can introduce peace and serenity within the confines of your own space. (Some may think of it as an aspirational window of sorts rather than a canvas.) Abstract landscape paintings by the likes of Korean painter Seungyoon Choi or Georgia-based artist Katherine Sandoz, on the other hand, bring pops of color and movement into a room. These landscapes refuse to serve as a background. Elsewhere, Adam Straus’s technology-inspired paintings highlight how our extreme involvement with our devices has removed us from the glory of the world around us. Influenced by modern life and steeped in social commentary, Straus’s landscape paintings make us see our surroundings anew.

Whether you’re seeking works by the world’s most notable names or those authored by underground legends, find a vast collection of landscape paintings on 1stDibs.