[DNA of Masterpieces] The Soul of Masterpieces Dwelling in Animation: 10 Abysses Resonating with Hayao Miyazaki's Expression

Hello everyone! Welcome to the "Zundamon Art Museum".

This might be sudden, but have you ever wondered why the animated worlds directed by Hayao Miyazaki feel so "nostalgic, yet never seen before, with an overwhelming sense of reality"?

Those beautiful, endless grasslands, or the massive, crumbling structures of other worlds... Actually, the animated scenery we are watching is infused with the "codes of beauty" left behind by genius painters from hundreds of years ago, transformed into new forms!

The meticulous handiwork pursued by medieval painters, the light particles captured by modern painters, and the memories of dynamism born in the East long ago. All of these are inherited as the "DNA of masterpieces" within the 24 frames per second of film.

👇 YouTube "Zundamon Art Museum" 10 Masterpieces that Influenced Hayao Miyazaki? Hidden Ghibli Roots

This time, I will thoroughly dissect the 10 abysses of masterpieces that resonate deeply with the expressions of the great master Hayao Miyazaki! After reading this, you will never be able to look at an anime screen as "just a background" ever again!

Chapter 1: Pieter Bruegel: Massive Structures and the Scent of "Daily Life"

First up is the "Tower of Babel" painted by the 16th-century Netherlandish master, Pieter Bruegel!

This labyrinthine, complex structure, the stairs spiraling endlessly, and the overwhelming scale piercing the clouds. Looking at this painting, everyone is reminded of the floating city in "Castle in the Sky" or the massive bathhouse that appears in "Spirited Away".

But the key point is that the building isn't just big. If you look closely at the scaffolding and shadows of this massive structure, you can see tiny, ant-like "working people" drawn in incredible detail. People operating cranes, people carrying bricks on their backs—there is a definite "activity of life" there.

Even in the worlds directed by Miyazaki, no matter how grand the fantasy, there is always a realistic "kitchen," "plumbing," and "a man cleaning." This Bruegel-esque perspective of "massive architecture with the scent of daily life" is the best way to give a fictional world tremendous persuasiveness!

Chapter 2: Claude Monet: Particles of "Light" that Mediate Atmosphere

Next is the "Woman with a Parasol" by the founder of Impressionism, Claude Monet.

The dazzling sunlight, the flowing clouds, and the flowers swaying violently in the wind. It is a masterpiece that makes you feel the temperature and scent of the wind brushing against your cheeks just by looking at it. It perfectly synchronizes with the secret garden in "Howl's Moving Castle" and that beautiful grassland scene in "The Wind Rises".

What Monet pursued was not the crisp, hard outlines of objects, but the "shifting light" and "air" itself that enveloped them. In his paintings, the "wind," which should be invisible, is fixed as touches of color.

In Miyazaki's works, too, there are depictions where the grass ripples the moment the protagonist stands in the meadow, or the shadows of clouds slide across the ground like living creatures. Monet's challenge of capturing a fleeting moment on canvas is inherited in every corner of the animation's background art, breathing a comfortable "breath" into the screen.

Chapter 3: Johannes Vermeer: The Holiness Dwelling in Daily "Labor"

Third is the "The Milkmaid" by the master of light, Johannes Vermeer.

Some might say, 'I find flashy magic and robot aerial battles more exciting and typical of animation!' but what actually gives Miyazaki's animation its genuine sense of reality is, in fact, these quiet depictions of daily life.

Take a look at this painting by Vermeer. It is just a simple, unremarkable scene of housework where a woman is silently pouring milk. Yet, a single ray of light streaming through the window elevates this labor into something 'sacred' that cannot be replaced by anything else.

Think of the many unremarkable but somehow memorable scenes, such as Kiki in 'Kiki's Delivery Service' silently scrubbing the shop floor by herself, or Sheeta in 'Castle in the Sky' stirring a large pot in the kitchen to make soup.The perspective that affirms 'labor' as the 'root of living' and depicts it beautifullyresonates deeply with the serenity of 17th-century Dutch painting.

Chapter 4: Hieronymus Bosch: The Humor of the 'Grotesque' Lurking in the Subconscious

Next is one of my absolute favorites, as I love occult and dark fantasy: Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights'!

It depicts horrific scenes of hell, such as humans with fish bodies and creatures with knives stuck in giant ears, to the point of excess. But strangely, it is not just scary; it is somehow comical, and as you look at it, you start to feel a strange charm.

Bosch dared to vomit the murky desires and fears of humanity onto the canvas as colorful, strange 'grotesque monsters.' This resonates perfectly with the designs of the 'myriad gods' and 'inhabitants of other worlds' that appear in Miyazaki's works.

No-Face, who rampages through 'Spirited Away,' and the Stink Spirit, who arrives covered in sludge, would not look out of place if they wandered into one of Bosch's paintings. Bosch's chaotic spirit—that 'the world cannot be depicted with beauty alone'—supports the exquisite balance between the eeriness of the otherworld and the irresistible humor that Director Miyazaki portrays.

Chapter 5: Caspar David Friedrich: 'Awe' and Loneliness Toward Great Nature

The fifth is 'Wanderer above the Sea of Fog' by Caspar David Friedrich, a leading figure of German Romanticism.

The back of a man looking down at a vast sea of clouds as far as the eye can see from a steep mountain peak. Humans are depicted as incredibly tiny, while the great nature is depicted as endlessly vast and terrifying. I feel that 'sublime loneliness'—like when Nausicaä stands alone at the bottom of the Sea of Corruption, or when one stands alone at the site of a ruined ancient civilization.

What Friedrich depicted was not nature that gently embraces humans, but 'awe' toward a nature as vast as God, which transcends human knowledge.

The deep forests that seem to reject humans and the overwhelming vastness of the earth that appear in Miyazaki's works. They touch our hearts precisely because they do not treat nature as mere 'healing,' but depict the boundary line as a sanctuary that must not be entered. By depicting a 'person seen from behind' looking at nature, it becomes a device that drags the viewer's perspective into a vast spiritual journey.

Chapter 6: Arnold Böcklin: The Silence of the 'Otherworld' Next to Daily Life

The sixth is the masterpiece 'Isle of the Dead' by the Symbolist master Arnold Böcklin.

It is a painting of a small boat carrying a figure in white clothes, quietly heading toward an isolated island surrounded by high rock walls where eerie cypress trees tower. It is not that it is sad, but as you look at it, you fall into a strange sensation where your chest tightens and daily life suddenly feels far away.

This is exactly the atmosphere of that legendary scene in 'Spirited Away' where Chihiro rides the mysterious sea train, moving silently across the endless, calm water!

Böcklin visualized the 'other side' (the supernatural world) that lurks right next to our daily lives with overwhelming silence. This profound sense of loneliness drifting within the frozen time elevates Miyazaki's animation from mere children's entertainment to high art that shakes the souls of adults.

Chapter 7: Ivan Bilibin: Decorative Beauty and the Realism of the 'Witch'

The seventh is 'Baba Yaga' by Ivan Bilibin, the god of Russian folktale illustrations.

The crisp, precise black lines and the vivid decorative patterns influenced by Ukiyo-e are incredibly stylish! And that terrifying old woman flying through the sky on a giant cauldron or mortar while waving a pipe... this is, in every way, the very root of Yubaba from 'Spirited Away'!

Director Hayao Miyazaki has been strongly influenced by the lineage of Russian folktale art, to the point where he says he decided to continue as an animator after watching the Russian animated film 'The Snow Queen' when he was young.

Not only in the character design of Yubaba, but also in the gorgeous wallpaper decorations of the Aburaya bathhouse and the patterns on the costumes of the people at the Tatara factory in 'Princess Mononoke,' this Bilibin-esque 'beautiful formal beauty' breathes. The witch Bilibin drew is scary, but she has the dignity of an 'independent elder' who lives by her own rules. That realism of a flesh-and-blood witch connects to the unforgettable old women in Miyazaki's animation.

Chapter 8: Joseph Mallord William Turner: The 'Explosion' of Speed and Atmosphere

The eighth is 'Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway' by the British master of light, Joseph Mallord William Turner.

At first glance, the entire screen seems to be melting into a mush in the heavy rain and fog, but from within it, a steam locomotive is charging toward us at full speed. Even though the outlines of what is depicted are vague, the tremendous 'speed' and 'heat of the atmosphere' come through vividly!

When I saw this painting, I was so excited, remembering the intense dogfights in 'Porco Rosso' and the scene in 'Castle in the Sky' where the Tiger Moth cuts through the giant Dragon's Nest (clouds)!

Turner abandoned drawing the exact shapes of objects and splashed the 'explosion of light and air, and the impact of speed' onto the canvas. The overwhelming beauty of the moment when the black smoke spewed from a flying boat's engine mixes with the sunset atmosphere and swirls. In the 19th century, Turner was already exploding the 'soul of animation (movement)' within the canvas of a still image.

Chapter 9: John Martin: 'Sublime Despair' Called the Collapse of Civilization

The ninth is the shocking apocalyptic world depicted by British painter John Martin, 'The Great Day of His Wrath'.

It is a panorama of despair where bright red lightning pours down from the heavens, giant rocky mountains split in two, and cities of civilization crumble into the earth. This terrifying yet sacred scene of catastrophe is exactly the 'Seven Days of Fire' that burned the world, mentioned at the beginning of 'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,' and the light of destruction released by the prototype of the Giant Warrior!

Martin is a painter who depicted the 'collapse of civilization' that appears in the Bible and history with overwhelming scale and relentless contrast of light and shadow.

The aesthetics of an end-of-the-world that is too beautiful, where the arrogant civilization built by humans is swallowed in an instant by the absolute power of nature or God. For Director Miyazaki, who continues to draw with themes of modern environmental destruction and human ego, the visuals of the apocalypse drawn by Martin serve as the ultimate battle gear (auxiliary line) to carve an indelible shock into the hearts of the audience.

Chapter 10: The Shigisan Engi Emaki: The Origin of the 'Soul' of Animation

Rounding out our list is a masterpiece of traditional Japanese picture scrolls from the 12th century, the Heian period: the Shigisan Engi Emaki (Legends of Mount Shigi)!

It features incredibly humorous and pop scenes, like a magical bowl flying through the sky and countless rice bales gliding through the air. Director Hayao Miyazaki and his close friend and colleague, director Isao Takahata, have both highly praised the 'expression of movement' in this scroll as world-class art.

What makes this scroll so amazing is its "continuity of time and movement." As you scroll horizontally across the screen, a single person appears multiple times in the same frame while changing their pose little by little. This is exactly the same system as the 'key animation' drawings that modern animators create! Just like a flipbook, it perfectly captures 'flowing time' within a static image.

Think of that clumsy, adorable kicking of Kiki's legs the moment she takes off on her broom in 'Kiki's Delivery Service.' Or the lively, dynamic feeling when Chihiro in 'Spirited Away' nervously runs down the dangerous outdoor stairs at full speed. The secret to that 'living movement' we all love is actually 100% hidden within this 'technology of manipulating time through pictures,' which the Japanese people invented a thousand years ago!

The profound spatial beauty of the West and the light, dynamic rhythm of the East. The result of these two elements achieving a miraculous fusion within the brain of a rare director like Hayao Miyazaki is the true identity of those Ghibli works we love so much!

Conclusion: The souls of the masters live on in everyone's eyes

Bruegel's sense of daily life, Monet's light, Vermeer's labor, Bosch's grotesque forms, Friedrich's awe, Böcklin's otherworldliness, Bilibin's witches, Turner's speed, Martin's apocalypse, and the dynamism of the picture scrolls.

How was our patrol through these 10 masterpieces? Watching a Hayao Miyazaki film is actually a luxurious, all-at-once experience of the cutting edge of the history of 'beautiful things' and 'terrifying things' that humanity has spent centuries building up!

The dreams, hopes, and light of fear that past masters poured their lives into capturing on canvas are still breathing firmly on the other side of the screen. Thinking about that makes me want to rewatch the Ghibli films from the beginning. From every single pebble in the background to the shape of every cloud floating in the sky, you should be able to hear the passionate cries of these masterpieces!

When you are all watching Ghibli anime, if you ever have a moment where you think, 'Oh! This scene has the exact same atmosphere as that masterpiece!', please let me know in the comments! There might still be plenty of DNA from masterpieces we don't even know about hidden away.

👇 YouTube 'Zundamon Art Museum' 10 Masterpieces That Influenced Hayao Miyazaki? Hidden Ghibli Roots