Chinese Landscapes and Nature

Elegant depictions of landscapes from Asia, characterized by flowing ink techniques, serene scenes, and elements of nature, embodying traditional artistic styles.

Shrimp, 1864, Kinoshita Itsuun, Japanese, 1800 - 1866, 10 1/8 × 12 1/16 in. (25.72 × 30.64 cm) (image)47 7/16 × 18 5/16 in. (120.49 × 46.51 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on silk, Japan, 19th century

Landscape in the Style of Ni Zan. Artist: Unidentified Artist; After Wang Yuanqi (Chinese, 1642-1715). Culture: China. Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (16.5 x 49.5 cm). Date: 18th century or later, spurious date of 1715. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Splashed-Ink Landscape early 16th century Bokush Shsh This evocative painting by Bokush is a variation on a celebrated landscape in the haboku (splashed-ink) technique by the great master Sessh Ty (1420-1506), which is now in the Tokyo National Museum. The technique, in which dark ink is applied rapidly over stillwet, light washes to create a soft, diffused effect, with neither welldefined contour lines nor explicit details, evokes an intuitive and contemplative mindset associated with Zen Buddhist spiritual practice. The artist Bokush, a highranking Rinzai Zen monk, also achieved renown in literary circles in Kyoto and later moved to western Honsh, where he befriended the famed ink painter Sessh.The abbreviated, mist-laden scene is also reminiscent of the work of the thirteenth-century Chinese artist Yujian, whose ink landscape paintings were much admired in Japan.. Splashed-Ink Landscape. Bokush Shsh (Japanese, active late 15th-early 16th century). Japan. early 16th c

Shrimp, 1864, Kinoshita Itsuun, Japanese, 1800 - 1866, 10 1/8 × 12 1/16 in. (25.72 × 30.64 cm) (image)47 7/16 × 18 5/16 in. (120.49 × 46.51 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on silk, Japan, 19th century

Unexpected Meeting on the Yodo River Rai Sany? ??? Japanese Tanomura Chikuden ????? Japanese 1823 This inscribed painting commemorates the literary and artistic friendship of two brilliant late Edo artists, both of whom were talented in the Three Perfections of East Asian art; painting, poetry and calligraphy. The impromptu inscribed painting commemorates a chance meeting in 1823 when the two of them were passing on boat along the Yodo River, near Lake Biwa, a short distance east of Kyoto. Though unsigned, we assume the painting was sketched by Tanomura Chikuden, then Rai Sany? inscribed it twice starting along the right margin of the scroll. Chikuden then added a five-column inscription on the left side of the scroll. They recounted that they had met five years before at Oka Castle in city of Takeda, Ky?sh?, which was Chikudens hometown. As Chikudens inscription testifies, among Nanga painters of his generation, he was one of the most literary and scholarly. As the son of a samura

Landscape with Fisherman Jiang Song. Landscape with Fisherman, 1368-1644. Hanging Scroll, Ink on paper, Overall: 93 x 43 in. (236.2 x 109.2 cm). Asian Art 1368-1644

Landscape in the Blue-and-Green Manner first half of the 18th century Yanagisawa Kien Although the landscape is packed with cliffs, boulders, an assortment of trees, and mountains, the viewer is invited to travel the rugged terrain along the stream that begins with distant waterfalls at the top before meandering the length of the narrow composition all the way to the foreground. Two dense inscriptions in the uppermost register fill the compositions only open space. The inscription at right includes three poems brushed by Yanagisawa Kien. The inscription at left, however, written five years after his death, includes six poems by the literati painter Miyazaki Kinpo (1717-1774). An early leader of the Nanga movement, Kien taught painting to literati artists Ike Taiga (1723-1776) and Kimura Kenkad? (1736-1802) in their youths.. Landscape in the Blue-and-Green Manner. Yanagisawa Kien (Japanese, 1704-1758). Japan. first half of the 18th century. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Edo p

Herons in the Snow. Artist: Nakabayashi Chikuto (Japanese, 1776-1853). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 51 3/4 x 23 11/16 in. (131.5 x 60.2 cm). Date: ca. 1840.The characteristic decorative quality of Chikuto's painting is amply evident here in the rhythmic arrangement of the herons, boldly framed by their snowy perch. The stark black-and-white contrasts and the repetitive patterns of horizontal washes that define the white forms of the birds and branches further contribute to an effect of graphic elegance. Chikuto, born a doctor's son in Nagoya, moved in 1815 to Kyoto, where he joined the circle of the nanga artist Rai Sanyo (1780-1832). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Summoning the Sage at Wei River. Date: 16th century. Origin: China. Period: Ming dynasty. Hanging scroll mounted on panel; ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Panel (Furnishing Fabric). Manchu; China. Date: 1763. Dimensions: 83.1 × 46.4 cm (32 3/4 × 18 1/4 in.). Silk, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with interlaced outlining wefts; painted details. Origin: China. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Range on wooden support. A range with the image of a dragon between the clouds, hangs up on a wooden support. The ribs from the impeller in length indicate the long and short months for the new year of the Dragon (1796).

Artist: Chen Jiru, Chinese, 1558-1639, A Cut Branch of BlossomingPlum, late 16th-early 17thcentury, Hanging scroll, ink on paper, without mounting: 29 1/4 × 19 1/8 in. (74.3 × 48.6cm), China, Chinese, Ming dynasty(1368-1644), Paintings

Artist: Zhu Lu, Chinese, 1553-1632, Bamboo, late 16th-early 17thcentury, Hanging scroll, ink on satin; with ivory rollers, with mounting: 89 1/2 × 26 in. (227.3 × 66 cm), China, Chinese, Ming dynasty(1368-1644), Paintings

Album of Blossoming Plum 1742 Li Fangying The plum, the first flower to bloom in the spring, has long been admired by scholar-gentlemen for its fortitude in the face of harsh conditions. Its delicate blossoms, springing forth from gnarled trunks and twisted branches, are a symbol of renewal, while its fragrance carries connotations of moral purity and loyalty.Li Fangying developed a specialty for painting the blossoming plum, which he admired for its lofty symbolism and long association with scholar-painting, as well as for its viability as a vehicle for spontaneous, abbreviated brushwork and dramatic abstraction. This album, painted when Li was living at home mourning the death of his parents, exemplifies the artist's integration of poetry, painting, and calligraphy and shows off his distilled minimalism and ability to produce distinctive variations on a single theme.Born into a family of government officials in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, a district under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou,

Chinese Lions and Peonies. Isoda Koryusai; Japanese, 1735-1790. Date: 1767-1777. Dimensions: 10 3/8 x 7 5/8 in. Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Painting Sroku on Pine Tree unknown

Landscape Shang Rui (Chinese, 1634-ca. 1724). Landscape, 1679. Hanging scroll; Ink and slight color on silk, Overall: 51 3/4 x 13 7/8 in. (131.5 x 35.2 cm). Asian Art 1679

Illustration of Zhang Qi's Poem on the Cold Mountain Temple, mid- to late 1700s. Ike Taiga (Japanese, 1723-1776). Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; overall: 210.8 x 53 cm (83 x 20 7/8 in.); painting only: 134.5 x 38.4 cm (52 15/16 x 15 1/8 in.).

Spring right of a pair of Birds and Flowers in Spring and Autumn, second half 19th century, Shibata Zeshin, Japanese, 1807 - 1891, 69 x 23 in. (175.3 x 58.4 cm) (each panel ), Lacquer and gold on paper, Japan, 19th century

Two Hawks on a Barren Bough. Date: 16th century. Origin: China. Period: Ming dynasty. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Floating and butterfly; Card from the painting template; 19th century (1801-00-00-1900-00-00);

Drawing, Brooch; Made by Giovanni Sebastiano Meyandi (Italian, active 1762 - 1794); Italy

Xiantang Estuary. Artist: In the style of Xia Gui (Chinese, active ca. 1195-1230). Culture: China. Dimensions: 9 1/8 x 9 3/8 in. (23.2 x 23.8 cm). Date: ca. 1200. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

World of Arts - 14; Bijutsu Sekai - 14. White cover with silver-colored lawn motif and in black the title; inside cover, orange with butterfly motif; 21 sheets, numbered: 1, table of contents; 1-20, images of people, animals and landscapes and a few page text; Inside cover, colophon.

Sunrise with Fisherman in Boat 1795, year of the rabbit Kubo Shunman Japanese This image of sunrise at the New Year is accompanied by a kyka (31-syllable witty verse) by the noted poet Syan Hikaru () and two of his pupils.. Sunrise with Fisherman in Boat. Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757-1820). Japan. 1795, year of the rabbit. Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Prints

Monkey reaches to the reflection of the moon. A monkey hangs with an arm on a branch of a pine and tries to grab the moon reflection. The show is depicted as if it is a standing room screen (tsuitate). Such a screen was usually placed right behind the door of a house, to keep evil spirits beyond, because of the belief that they could only move in straight lines. With three poems.

Japan, Katei, Taki, Kingfisher on lotus plant, endpaper - stamped, Octogonal print in album with 39 prints., album page, print, prints, Japan (collection), height 223 mm, width 287 mm, 1830 - 1901, print maker, printmaker, 1880 - 1890, fourth quarter 19th century, paper, color woodcut

Scroll Made 1850-1870 China. Silk, satin weave; embroidered with silk and gilt-paper-strip-wrapped silk in satin stitches; couching; painted .

Pure Sound of the Rivers and Mountains, 18th century, Takebe Ryōtai, Japanese, 1719 - 1774, 31 13/16 x 12 1/8 in. (80.8 x 30.8 cm) (image), Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan, 18th century, Takebe Ryo_tai was a contemporary of Japan's most famous nanga artists, Ike Taiga and Yosa Buson, but there is no evidence that Ryo_tai knew either of them. Ryo_tai's interest in Chinese-style painting began when he was a Zen monk at To_fukuji temple in Kyoto. He eventually abandoned monastic life to devote himself to painting and poetry, and sought out noted masters such as Sakaki Hyakusen (Taiga's teacher) and Kumashiro Yuhi, a Nagasaki painter of birds and flowers. Ryo_tai's use of wet, freely applied brushstrokes in this painting, however, reflects the influence of Fei Han-yuan, a Chinese artist who visited Nagasaki and under whom Ryo_tai studied in 1754.

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

Landscapes with the Chinese Literati Su Shi and Tao Qian. Artist: Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754-1799). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image (each screen): 67 3/8 in. x 12 ft. 2 3/4 in. (171.1 x 372.7 cm). Date: 1795-99.The forbidding, grotto-pierced precipice at left suggests a site on the Yangzi River where the Chinese poet Su Shi (Dongpo, 1037-1101) composed his famous "Ode on the Red Cliff." The gentler scene at the right, centering on a scholar with young attendants in a hut within a willow grove, is meant to depict the Chinese poet-recluse Tao Qian (Tao Yuanming, 365-472) in his country retreat. The artist seems to have set up an explicit contrast between the two scenes: Su's forced exile (wild) against Tao's self-imposed exile (calm). Rosetsu developed such an idiosyncratic style that he became known as one of the "Three Eccentrics" (the other two being Ito Jakuchu and Soga Shohaku). He is renowned for his bravura handling of line and wash, as seen in these screens. Museum: Met

Album of 12 Landscapes Album of 12 Landscapes, 18th century. Ink and light color on silk, Image: 12 1/8 x 9 in. (30.8 x 22.9 cm). Asian Art 18th century

Album with Paintings and Calligraphy, second half 19th century, Urakami Shunkin; Artist: Kikuchi Gozan; Artist: Aone Kyūkō; Artist: Ueno Setsugaku; Artist: Ikeda Unshō; Artist: Yamamoto Chikuun; Artist: Taigadō Teiryo; Artist: Tomitori Hōsai; Artist: Tanomura Chokunyū, Japanese, 1814 - 1907, 9 7/16 × 7 1/8 × 15/16 in. (23.97 × 18.1 × 2.38 cm), Ink and color on paper and silk, Japan, 19th century

Landscape in the Style of Ni Zan 18th century or later, spurious date of 1715 Unidentified artist. Landscape in the Style of Ni Zan. Unidentified artist. China. 18th century or later, spurious date of 1715. Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Spring Dawn Over the Elixir Terrace ca. 1369 Lu Guang To escape the turbulence of the closing years of the Yuan dynasty, Lu Guang traveled far from his native city of Suzhou. He painted Spring Dawn after his return to the Lake Tai area, following the establishment of the Ming dynasty in 1368. The reference to the Elixir Terrace in the title of the painting indicates the artist's interest in both Daoist alchemy and the pursuit of immortality; the poem, which describes "elixir rays emitted from a well turning into auspicious clouds at dawn," expresses Lu's optimism in the new era. In the city of Wuxing in 1369, Lu Guang saw and inscribed an important painting attributed to Yan Wengui (act. ca. 980-1010). Although Spring Dawn, which was painted about the same time, shows the influence of Yan Wengui's monumental composition, Lu Guang's brushwork is utterly different from the Northern Song descriptive style. The loosely directed kinesthetic brush-strokes, building layer after layer upon t

Strolling in a Misty Valley 1649 Mei Qing Chinese Mei Qing was born into a prominent family in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, about seventy-five miles south of Nanjing. Mei followed the family tradition of scholarship. By age sixteen he had become a prefectural-level student (zhusheng), and in 1642 he published his first collection of poems. He lived in retirement during the first decade of the Qing dynasty.Strolling in a Misty Valley is Meis earliest extant work, done shortly after he moved to a new family residence in a scenic area south of Xuancheng. The painting shows him working in the dry, linear style typical of a number of late Ming painters, with angular rock formations and craggy pines loosely organized along a serpentine stream. Its style vaguely recalls the landscape forms of Huang Gongwang (1269-1354) and the spare brush idiom of Ni Zan (1306-1374). Painted just five years after the fall of the Ming dynasty, its allusions to these recluse-artists, who lived under the Mongol Y

Meijin gafu, Vol. 3 (Famous Painters) Japan. Meijin gafu, Vol. 3 (Famous Painters). Japan. Woodblock-printed book. probably Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Zen -Kormrafie, Daibi, 1616 - 1673 paper. ink calligraphy paper. ink calligraphy

Landscape after Gao Kegong (1248-1310), studying the method of Mi Fu (1051-1107), from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting First edition, 1679 Designed by Wang Gai In 1679, the author Li Yu published a primer for aspiring landscape painters called the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, and he commissioned the versatile painter Wang Gai to provide designs for the illustrations. The first edition features volumes on the components of landscape paintingtrees, rocks, and human figureswith instructions on how to draw different types of each. It also includes two volumes of landscapes in the styles of old masters, which show readers how to transform what they have learned into their own historically minded compositions.The manual transmitted the fashion for studying old masters' styles beyond the rarified elite circles that had given rise to the practice, and it went on to become the most widely used introduction to painting not only in China, but in Korea and Japan as well. Su

Untitled. From The Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden for Painters. Date/Period: Early 19th century. Print. Woodblock print on paper. Height: 250 mm (9.84 in); Width: 320 mm (12.59 in). Author: Japanese Anonymous.

The Four Seasons, 1668. Kano Tanyū (Japanese, 1602-1674). Six-panel folding screen, ink and slight color on paper; image: 174 x 381 cm (68 1/2 x 150 in.). Tan'y?'s skills were honed early within the regimen of the Kano family's painting studio. His grandfather, Eitoku (1543-1590) was the Momoyama period's most sought-after painter, a champion of colorful, large-scale painting compositions who worked for several of the country's most powerful leaders. When the young Tan'y? was summoned to Edo in 1617 by the shogun to become a member of the new capital's official painting studio, few opportunities to work on similarly ambitious projects existed. Yet by the end of his career, Tan'y? had supervised the execution and installation of linked mural painting compositions in several of Japan's most prestigious residences and castles. As an official court painter to the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu (reigned 1603-5), and then his successors, Tan'y? appears to have successfully juggled his offic

Mountain Market, Clearing Mist early 13th century Xia Gui Chinese This album leaf presents a poetic evocation of one of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. The Eight Views became a popular subject for painters beginning in the late eleventh century after the Chan (Japanese: Zen) Buddhist monk Huihong (1071-1128) composed eight poems on these themes. His poem "Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist" offers vivid images for painters to interpret:Last night's rain is letting up, mountain air is heavy,Steam rising, sun and shadow, shifting lightamid trees;The silkworm market comes to a close, the crowdthins out,Roadside willows by the market bridge: goldenthreads play;Whose house with flower-filled plot is acrossthe valleyA smooth-tongued yellow bird calls in spring breeze;Wine flag in hazy distance-look and you can see:It's the one west of the road to Zhe Tree ReidgeValley.(Alfreda Murck, trans., in Images of the Mind[Princeton: The Art Museum, PrincetonUniversity, 1984, p. 2

Composition with dried roz Lin; Ruszczyc, Ferdynand (1870-1936); 1. W. 20th century (1900-00-00-1925-00-00);Partage Plus, purchase (provenance)

West Lake in Spring, 1750s-1770s, Ike (Tokuyama) Gyokuran, Japanese, 1727 - 1784, 21 1/4 × 39 in. (53.98 × 99.06 cm) (image)62 3/4 × 46 5/16 in. (159.39 × 117.63 cm) (without roller), Ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan, 18th century

Scene with Boatman on River From an Album of Twelve Leaves Wang Yuanqi (Chinese, 1642-1715). , 1700. Album leaves, ink and watercolor on paper, 12 3/4 x 18 ¼ in. each. Asian Art 1700

Fragment of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll - Bamboo, Orchid and Thorn Hsueh Ch'uang. Fragment of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll - Bamboo, Orchid and Thorn, 1279-1368. Painting in ink on paper, Image: 15 3/4 x 25 3/16 in. (40 x 64 cm). Asian Art 1279-1368

Hsiao I Obtaining the Lan-T'ing Calligraphy by Trickery (first image) and Prunus Blossoms (second image) Hsiao I Obtaining the Lan-T'ing Calligraphy by Trickery (first image) and Prunus Blossoms (second image), late 17th century. Ink and color on silk, With mount: 12 5/8 x 30 in. (32.1 x 76.2 cm). Asian Art late 17th century

. In early 20th-century Japan, Suzuki Shonen modernized landscape painting in a Chinese style. He replaced the traditional subdivision in fore-, middle and background with a more continuous perspective. This yielded a modern atmosphere making an almost photographic impression. At the same time he exhibited his skill with the brush. Using only monochrome ink he rendered the wealth of textures and tints of thismonumental landscape in the summer rain.

Heaven's True Painting Immortal, mid 19th century, Morita Sessai, Japanese, 1811 - 1868, 52 1/2 × 16 1/2 in. (133.35 × 41.91 cm) (image)73 1/8 × 22 in. (185.74 × 55.88 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink on paper, Japan, 19th century

Hsiao I Obtaining the Lan-T'ing Calligraphy by Trickery (first image) and Prunus Blossoms (second image) Hsiao I Obtaining the Lan-T'ing Calligraphy by Trickery (first image) and Prunus Blossoms (second image), late 17th century. Ink and color on silk, With mount: 12 5/8 x 30 in. (32.1 x 76.2 cm). Asian Art late 17th century

Landscape with Qin, late 18th - early 19th century, Kameda Bōsai, Japanese, 1752 - 1826, 15 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (39.37 × 24.13 cm) (image)60 9/16 × 13 9/16 in. (153.83 × 34.45 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 18th-19th century

A Page from the Jie Zi Yuan Original painted by Wang Meng Chinese. A Page from the Jie Zi Yuan. Original painted by Wang Meng (Chinese, ca. 1308-1385). China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Prints

Hinagata chō (Model Book) 19th century Unidentified artist. Hinagata chō (Model Book). Unidentified artist. Japan. 19th century. Watercolor and ink on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Buddhist Temples amid Autumn Mountains 14th century Unidentified artist Long landscape handscrolls often show travelers on the move. These tiny figures guide us through the world depicted on the scroll, humanizing it and focusing our attention. In the opening section of this painting, a man in a skiff puts a bamboo flute to his lips, inspired by the scenery. On the far shore, an old man walks to a thatched hut with the aid of a walking stick. Further in, a wood gatherer drives his mule train along a plank road into the mountains. At the end, a scene of repose: a lone boatman huddles in his skiff, pole tucked under his shivering arm, waiting for travelers to ferry to the distant shore. These journeys mirror our own as we discover the landscape through the process of unrolling the scroll.This painting boasts an impressive suite of colophons by fourteenth-century writers, including two renowned scholar-painters, Ni Zan and Lu Guang. Though the painting itself bears a signature of the tent

Pair of Kadomatsu (pine decorations). Artist: Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757-1820). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 4 3/4 x 5 3/8 in. (12.1 x 13.7 cm). Date: 1797. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Bamboo, Plum and Rock Dated 1743 Li Fangying Chinese. Bamboo, Plum and Rock. Li Fangying (Chinese, 1696-1754). China. Dated 1743. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Shaded Dwellings among Streams and Mountains ca. 1622-25 Dong Qichang Chinese Dong Qichang, the foremost landscape painter and theorist of the early seventeenth century, pursued artistic reform. Reacting against what he perceived as the decadent, perverse trends of contemporary landscape painting, Dong, following in the literati tradition, sought a creative reconstruction of the past through the critical study of ancient styles. In an attempt to restore simplicity and vitality to painting, Dong advocated a spiritual correspondence with the art of the old masters rather than a literal imitation of them and underscored the importance of self-expression. Approaching painting as though it were calligraphy, Dong alternated positive and negative patterns in his landscapes, which resulted in a radical new kinesthetic style.Shaded Dwellings among Streams and Mountains, based on a work by the early master Dong Yuan (act. 930s-60s), is a complex calligraphic study of rock and tree forms conceive

Misty Dawn at the Seashore. Artist: Okada Hanko (Japanese, 1782-1846). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 68 1/2 x 18 7/8 in. (174 x 47.9 cm)Overall: 92 1/4 x 28 3/8in. (234.3 x 72.1cm). Date: 19th century.This gentle, unassuming picture depicts a seaside village at dawn as the mist gradually clears from the mountains and treetops. The lone scholar at the bottom of the composition seems to walk toward, not away from, the viewer, an anomaly in an otherwise tradition-bound painting that depicts a narrow gorge and a small port in a steeply rising vertical composition.Hanko, son and pupil of Okada Beisanjin, grew up within the literati circle gathered around his father. Earning their living as rice merchants, Hanko and his father could devote themselves to Confucian studies and, later in life, to the study of painting in the style of Chinese Ming and Qing masters. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Ehon Azuma Kagami, Vol. II Kitao Masayoshi (Japanese, 1764-1824). Ehon Azuma Kagami, Vol. II, 1810. Paper, 8 7/8 x 6 1/8 in. (22.5 x 15.6 cm). Asian Art 1810

Flowers and Birds in a Spring Landscape, 1500s. Attributed to Kano Motonobu (Japanese, c. 1476-1559). One of a set of sliding door panels mounted as hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper; painting only: 177.1 x 137.1 cm (69 3/4 x 54 in.); including mounting: 259.1 x 151.1 cm (102 x 59 1/2 in.).

Fragment from the Illustrated Scrolls of the Tales of Saigyō (Saigyō monogatari emaki), 17th century, Unknown Japanese, 11 15/16 × 26 3/8 in. (30.32 × 66.99 cm) (image)50 1/8 × 32 11/16 in. (127.32 × 83.03 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 17th century

Hanging scroll, mid 18th century, attributed to Ike Taiga, Japanese, 1723 - 1776, 18 3/4 × 19 13/16 in. (47.63 × 50.32 cm) (image)44 × 23 1/8 in. (111.76 × 58.74 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink on paper, Japan, 18th century

Searching for My Parents dated 1656 Huang Xiangjian This painting illustrates Huang Xiangjian's perilous journey through Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces in one of the most celebrated acts of filial piety in late imperial Chinese history. In 1643 Huang's father was appointed county magistrate in Yunnan, and for nearly a decade thereafter, Huang heard nothing from his parents. Not knowing whether they had survived the ravages of warfare following the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, he set out in 1652 from his home in Suzhou and traveled over 1,400 miles in search of his parents. In his vivid published account, Huang describes the many hardships he endured before being reunited with his parents in rural Yunnan. He eventually escorted them back home, completing his round-trip journey in 558 days.Painted three years after his return, this handscroll documents the most arduous portion of the journey, including treacherous mountain trails and the military garrisons where he faced interrogation

Album of Flowers and the Moon 1836 Kawamura Kihō Japanese. Album of Flowers and the Moon. Kawamura Kihō (Japanese, 1778-1852). Japan. 1836. Woodblock-printed book (orihon, accordion-style); ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

19. Fries, Festonies and Vignette from hazelnut, oak, wine, pumpkins, paradise apple, Kukuk etc .. State state view Hamburg, collection of photography history

Hanshan and Shide, mid 16th century, attributed to Kano Yukinobu, Japanese, c. 1513 - 1575, 8 3/4 × 17 1/8 in. (22.23 × 43.5 cm) (image)42 11/16 × 20 5/8 in. (108.43 × 52.39 cm) (mount, without roller ), Ink and gold on mica-coated paper, Japan, 16th century, Kanzan (Chinese: Hanshan) and Jittoku (Ch.: Shide), a pair of ninth-century Chinese monk-poets, almost always appear together in Japanese painting. In this compositionbased on a work by thirteenth-century Chinese painter Muqi Fachang that later became a stock image for Japanese painters affiliated with the Kano HouseJittoku is depicted at right grinding ink for his friend Kanzan, who uses the prepared ink to brush a poem on the wall of a cave at left.

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove 1550s Sesson Shūkei In China during the turbulent years of the early Western Jin dynasty (265-317), seven literati secluded themselves in a bamboo grove outside the capital. There they escaped from the strictures of officialdom and Confucian conduct, drinking wine, engaging in witty Daoist discourse called qingtan, and playing music and chess. Their story became legend and the frequent subject of painting in China, and eventually Japan. In this unusually exuberant interpretation by Sesson, the sages dance wildly in the company of equally ebullient women and children. Even the bamboo seems to sway to the sages drumbeat.Although this type of departure from traditional iconography led to the occasional characterization of Sesson as “eccentric,” he was also a Zen monk and educated painter who studied a wide array of earlier Chinese and Japanese paintings. This work can be dated to the 1550s, when he lived near Kamakura, the old administrative capital.. Seve

Autumn Waters, mid 19th century, Kikuchi Gozan, Japanese, 1769 - 1849, 9 3/4 × 5 7/8 in. (24.77 × 14.92 cm) (sheet)11 5/16 × 7 1/2 in. (28.73 × 19.05 cm) (mount), Ink on decorated paper, Japan, 19th century

Woodcutters and Fishermen. Artist: Matsumura Goshun (Japanese, 1752-1811). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image (each): 65 15/16 in. × 12 ft. 2 7/16 in. (167.5 × 372 cm)Overall with mounting: 67 1/2 in. × 12 ft. 4 in. (171.5 × 376 cm). Date: ca. 1790-95.In this scene, set against rolling hills and an enclosed lagoon, woodcutters trudge among the pines and fishermen relax on a small boat. The hazy atmosphere and delicate flush of the willows suggest the warmth of spring. Most of the workmen are old; their garments indicate that they are Chinese. For this idyllic depiction, the artist has chosen the fisherman to symbolize the lofty purity of the life of the recluse scholar, following in the tradition of Chinese literati painters. Early in his career, Matsumura Goshun, who was born into a family that for four generations had served as officials at the government mint, came under the sway of the great literati painter and haiku poet Yosa Buson (1716-1783). He then turned to the style of Ma

Landscape 18th century or later, spurious date of 1648 Unidentified artist. Landscape 35974

First Warbler from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji, 1600s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Accordion album; ink, light color, and gold on paper; each leaf: 26.3 x 22 cm (10 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.); painting only: 17 x 20.6 cm (6 11/16 x 8 1/8 in.). This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the Tale of Genji, authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794-1185) court. The scenes are painted in the white drawing” (hakuby?) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character’s lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters Thin Veil of Cloud” (Usugumo) and Barrier Gate” (Sekiya).

Kaishien gaden' (The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual), Japanese edition, 1753, by Wang Gai (active 1677-1705). This edition was issued in Kyoto and features woodcuts

Herons, Lotus, and Bamboo. Date: 16th century. Origin: China. Period: Ming dynasty. Hanging scroll mounted on panel; ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Mt. Heng, after Juran (active ca. 960-965), from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting First edition, 1679 Designed by Wang Gai In 1679, the author Li Yu published a primer for aspiring landscape painters called the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, and he commissioned the versatile painter Wang Gai to provide designs for the illustrations. The first edition features volumes on the components of landscape paintingtrees, rocks, and human figureswith instructions on how to draw different types of each. It also includes two volumes of landscapes in the styles of old masters, which show readers how to transform what they have learned into their own historically minded compositions.The manual transmitted the fashion for studying old masters' styles beyond the rarified elite circles that had given rise to the practice, and it went on to become the most widely used introduction to painting not only in China, but in Korea and Japan as well. Subsequent editions added flowers as a s

Honcho gasan (Collection of Japanese Paintings). Artist: Tani Buncho (Japanese, 1763-1840). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Each book: 9 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (23.5 × 15.9 cm). Date: 1809. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Drawing, Detail View of the Edge of the Canadian bank; Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826-1900); USA

Zen Encounter (Niaoke Daolin and Bai Juyi) 16th century Attributed to Kenk Shkei. Zen Encounter (Niaoke Daolin and Bai Juyi). Attributed to Kenk Shkei (Japanese, active ca. 1478-ca. 1523). Japan. 16th century. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Muromachi period (1392-1573). Paintings

Landscapes after Song and Yuan masters 1642 Lan Ying Chinese Lan Ying was a breaker of boundaries. Dong Qichang and his cohort, the leading tastemakers of Lans day, tended to look down on painters who relied on virtuoso skill and flashy brushwork, preferring directness and simplicity. Lan, a prolific and skilled professional artist, nevertheless won them over, transcending his status as a professional and gaining provisional entry into the class of scholar-painters. Lan adopted Dongs practice of making old-masters albums, and this is one of his finest. Here, Lan marries his eye for dramatic composition to an uncharacteristic restraint in brushwork, avoiding his more typical strong, angular forms that would have raised eyebrows among literati critics.. Landscapes after Song and Yuan masters 49021

Scholar playing on a citrus in a landscape; XVI-XVIII century (1801-00-00-1900-00-00);Chinese (culture), lemon, painting, wise men, landscapes, portraits, Chinese art

The Lanting Gathering, Early Summer 1762, Ike Taiga, Japanese, 1723 - 1776, 58 11/16 × 23 in. (149.07 × 58.42 cm) (image)73 15/16 × 26 1/8 in. (187.8 × 66.36 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink, color, silver paint(), and gold paint on paper, Japan, 18th century

Sorimachi 409, 1746, 1746, Osaka

Kaishien gaden = The mustard seed garden painting manual.. Wang, Gai, active 1677-1705. Prints, Illustrations. 1753. Spencer Collection

Zhong Kui - the DemonQueller. Artist: Chen Huan, active ca. 1605 - 1615

Rocks Yosa Buson. Rocks. Yosa Buson (Japanese, 1716-1783). Japan. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Wild Geese, late 1500s-early 1600s. Kano Sanraku (Japanese, 1559-1635). Pair of six-fold screens; ink on paper; image: 152 x 359 cm (59 13/16 x 141 5/16 in.); overall: 170.2 x 371.8 cm (67 x 146 3/8 in.). Depictions of geese usually appear as ink paintings in Japan during the 1200s. They later show up in the colorful landscapes of illustrated handscrolls. Such early ink renditions of the birds have long been associated with classical Chinese Zen painting and poetry, which was avidly admired and collected in medieval Japan. In the screens on display, the artist portrayed the waterfowl in a pastoral setting without reference to classical or religious themes. Such ordinary subjects were imbued with special meaning in 14th- and 15th-century Japan through associations with continental culture, Zen thought and poetry, and famous Chinese monk-painters whose painting techniques had become revered as visual emblems of Zen principles. The screens here reflect the continuation of that painting t

Textile Design for Stencil 17th century Japan. Textile Design for Stencil 68421

Odes of the State of Bin mid-12th century Ma Hezhi Chinese This handscroll is one of a set that illustrates the 305 poems in the Shijing (The Book of Odes), a work traditionally believed to have been compiled by Confucius (551-479 B.C.). The scrolls were made at the court of Gaozong (r. 1127-62), the first emperor of the Southern Song dynasty, and the transcriptions they bear, probably inscribed by either a scribe or a consort, are written in Gaozong's regular-script style. The accompanying paintings are the work of Ma Hezhi, a court artist known for his "orchid-leaf" brushstroke, a distinctive type of undulating brush line.The poems illustrated in this scroll are known as the Odes of the State of Bin, for they were believed to have been the songs of Bin (in modern Shensi Province), the ancient homeland of the founders of the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1100-256 B.C.). These odes are the last in the section known as Guofeng ("Airs from the States"), which contains poems gathered from all over th

Boats Moored in Wind and Rain. Artist: Unidentified Artist Chinese, 13th century; Formerly Attributed to Yan Ciyu (Chinese, act. ca. 1164-81). Culture: China. Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. (24.8 x 27.3 cm). Date: 13th century.Yan Ciyu, to whom this fan was once attributed, is represented today by a single signed album leaf now in the Freer Gallery, Washington, D.C. In contrast to the restrained and dramatic manner of the Freer landscape, which is painted in the blue-and-green style of Li Tang (ca. 1070s-ca. 1150s), the flattish, formalistic design of the Crawford painting, with its heavily outlined trees and rocks and sharply silhouetted hills, is indebted to the stylistic developments of Ma Yuan and Xia Gui (both act. ca. 1190-1225). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Piece 18th-19th century Japan. Piece 67364

Palace Unidentified artist. Palace 51402

Flowers. Woodcut, 18--.

Landscape with Summer Villa, c. 1730, Yuan Jiang, Chinese, active c. 1690 - c. 1746, 73 1/4 × 39 1/2 in. (186.1 × 100.3 cm) (image)130 3/4 × 50 7/8 in. (332.1 × 129.2 cm) (mount, with roller), Ink and light colors on silk, China, 18th century, The first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221-207 BCE) has escaped the summer heat at his palace in Mount Li in Xian, the capital of the Qin. The painting is dominated by the atmospheric mountain, but look closely to see the emperor sitting in his palace surrounded by a large number of female courtesans. The realistic portrayal of these figures allows for a glimpse into the lives of these women. They are depicted making tea, providing refreshment and entertainment; we can see their clothing, utensils, and hairstyles. And while they are scattered throughout the palace in various chambers, they all seem to have the purpose of serving the emperor.

Landscape of the Four Seasons late 16th-early 17th century Unkoku Tgan The four seasons of the year progress across the surface of this pair of screens, beginning at the right, with spring, and concluding with winter at the far left. The imaginary landscape, with rocky land masses, towering mountains, pavilions, and human activity, recalls aspects of the Chinese theme “Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers,” particularly with its depiction of geese descending to a sandbar in the distance.Tgan, founder of the Unkoku school, was one of the most important ink painters of the Momoyama period. This panoramic landscape composition reflects the influence of the earlier, Muromachi-period ink master, Sessh Ty (1420-1506), whose studio, the Unkoku-an, was bestowed upon Tgan in the 1590s and from which he adopted his family name. The sharp outlines and architectonic treatment of land masses visible in this work appear in other screens by Tgan, some of which also feature gilded backgroun

The wistaria, 1768, Woodcuts

Collection of paintings by Chen Shiceng. Rong Bao Zhai (1672- ), publishing house, Chen, Shiceng, painter

Landscapes of the Four Seasons mid-16th century Keison In medieval Zen monasteries, it was not uncommon to find a religious artwork flanked by a pair of hanging scrolls depicting seemingly secular subjects such as landscapes or birds and flowers. Painters used a variety of compositional strategies to ensure that these diptychs would complement a central icon of a buddha, bodhisattva, or important Zen patriarch. In this pair of landscapes, for example, Keison positioned the profusion of mountains, trees, and architectural motifs at the outside edges of each picture so that they could frame a central figure.Although Keison was a professional artist, active in eastern Japan in the vicinity of Kamakura, he modeled most of his works after those of a celebrated monk-painter, Kenk Shkei (active ca. 1478-ca. 1523).. Landscapes of the Four Seasons. Keison (Japanese, active mid-16th century). Japan. mid-16th century. Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper. Muromachi period (1392-1573). Painting

Towing a Boat in a Rainstorm late 12th century Unidentified artist In this painting, the modulated brush lines and vivid use of ink washes to model forms and evoke a moisture-laden atmosphere betray none of the hallmarks of the Southern Song academic style as defined by Ma Yuan (active ca. 1190-1225) and Xia Gui (active ca. 1195-1230). Recalling the late eleventh-century style of Guo Xi and other Northern Song masters, the painting can reasonably be dated to the early Southern Song era.. Towing a Boat in a Rainstorm 36056

Melons. Artist: Yamada Doan (Japanese, second half of the 16th century). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 13 1/4 × 18 1/8 in. (33.6 × 46 cm)Overall with mounting: 47 1/2 × 23 7/8 in. (120.7 × 60.6 cm)Overall with knobs: 47 1/2 × 25 13/16 in. (120.7 × 65.5 cm). Date: late 16th century.Images of fruits and vegetables were often displayed in Zen temples as symbolic offerings to Buddhist icons. Although similar images were produced earlier in Song dynasty China, ink paintings of isolated fruits or vegetables became popular in Japan during the late Muromachi period, when they were associated with the Chinese Chan (Zen) artist Muqi (ca. 1210-after 1269). A painting of this subject and size could have been displayed at tea gatherings during the summer season.Several generations of artists bore the name Doan, although the seal "Yamada-shi Doan" may have belonged to a lord of the late 15th-16th century, when much of the country was involved in civil war. Although a member of the military

Inn and Travelers in Snowy Mountains Yuan Yao Chinese 1745 This painting, with its extravagant depiction of the rigors of traveling in the mountains in winter, would have appealed to the merchants from the northern province of Shanxi. Inspired by fantastic garden rockeries rather than an actual landscape, Yuan Yaos fanciful composition juxtaposes a twisting vertical mountainscape with a level vista where a playful zigzag bridge bisects the view. A distant range of precipitous peaks is straddled by a bridge ornamented with a paviliona typical garden conceit in the level terrain of south Chinathat is incongruously suspended over a deep chasm. In the foreground, a bustling country inn promises a welcome rest stop for travelers.Yuan first laid out this monochrome masterpiece with pale outlines then added broader, boldly brushed contours in varying ink tones that both model forms and enliven them with graphic energy. The result is a dynamic composition that appears to have been executed wit

Dwelling in the Longmian ("Sleeping Dragon") Mountains, 1100s-1200s. Follower of Li Gonglin (Chinese, c. 1049-1106). Handscroll mounted as an album leaf, ink and color on silk; image: 26.5 x 43 cm (10 7/16 x 16 15/16 in.); mounted: 38.3 x 53.8 cm (15 1/16 x 21 3/16 in.).

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