Musicology Annotation << Back The Interaction of National Traditions and Italian Art in the Watercolor Landscape Painting of China in the XVI–XVIII Centuries Tang Jing In the 16th–18th century, the watercolor landscape painting of China was signifi cantly enriched due to the influence of Italian fine art. Giuseppe Castiglione played a huge role in the transformation of the canons of Chinese painting. He harmoniously combined the traditions of Chinese and Italian watercolor techniques. Castiglione, like no one else, was able to feel the symbolism of traditional Chinese landscape art, highlighting its most unique components through the Italian technique of chiaroscuro and linear perspective. Such interventions in the ancient traditions of Chinese watercolor art not only did not violate the specifi cs of the national color, but also made it more vivid and imaginative. The imitation of nature, uncharacteristic of Chinese landscape painting, which was the basis of Italian art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, was not only a unique innovation in the history of Chinese watercolor painting, but also the component that made it possible to bring the ancient tradition of depicting nature in Chinese pictorial art to a new level. The harmonious synthesis of the two cultures opened a new milestone in the history of watercolor landscape painting in China. The influence of the processes that took place in Chinese art in the 16th–18th centuries is also felt in the works of contemporary artists. Keywords: Chinese watercolor landscape painting, Italian watercolor landscape painting, Giuseppe Castiglione, Art of the 16th–18th centuries, interaction of traditions. DOI: 10.25791/musicology.7.2022.1263 Pp. 42-50.