Matsue had occupied himself with landscape photography for a long time, traveling extensively through Asia, Europe, Africa and America. The pictures documenting his journeys-- with the titles referring to the respective places the photos were taken--typically portray rugged, scarcely covered mountain slopes, seemingly far away from any civilization. Matsue's characteristic mountain scenes are coupled with a number of his new works: urban landscapes, views of street jungles and masses of houses. Matsue also retained the compositional method he had developed with the landscapes: The horizon is cut out completely so that buildings and streets, as before rocks and vegetation, cover the entire picture. This constructed objectivity is a result of Matsue's photographical technique. His shots are sharply focused throughout and full of details. Because of the great level of exactness and highly differentiated gray tones, all elements can be recognized separately. Even the lighting is "objective," as every little detail is equally exposed and no dramatic light-and-shadow play is added to enhance the effect. If one looks for historical models for Matsue's work, Japanese pen-and-ink drawings first come to mind - vertical-formatted paper scrolls that bear the same juxtaposition of natural elements as well as the skillful differentiation of gray tones. Among western painters, Matsue probably most resembles Caspar David Friedrich, with his meticulous recording of the natural environment and his experiments with all -embracing panoramas and artificial portrayals of nature. In the end it is Matsue's unconditional ambition towards his object, the world, which makes his art so fascinating