Landscape in Shubun style

Date16th century

MediumHanging scroll: ink on paper

Dimensions23 x 12 inches (58.4 x 30.5 cm)

CultureJapan

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineAcquired through the University Special Purchase Fund

Terms

Paintings
Landscape
Scroll
Hanging scroll
ink on paper
Boats
Bodies of water
Buildings
Landscapes
Men
Mountains
Pavilions
Pine trees
Rock formations
Thatched roofs
Waterfalls
Paper
Japanese

Object number56.248

Label CopyDuring the fifteenth century, Japanese landscape paintings based on Chinese ink paintings by the Southern Song masters Ma Yuan (ca. 1160–1225) and Xia Gui (ca.1194–1125) became associated with the painter-monk Tenshu Shubun (active 1423–1460). The ink painting style that developed bearing his name features large mountain forms on one side of the composition contrasted with a misty expanse of water on the other. The landscape elements often appear to float above the mist, creating an evocative, imaginary space in which the mind can find serene refuge. In addition, the paintings were done in a small format that reinforces their Japanese origins; such scrolls would have been appropriate for the decoration of a Japanese tea room or for a Zen priest’s life of study and contemplation.

("Tradition, Transmission, and Transformation in East Asian Art," curated by Cornell PhD student Yuhua Ding under the supervision of Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum January 23-June 12, 2016)

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