Untitled

Sesson Shūkei

16th century · Six-panel folding screen; ink on paper · Asian Art

This screen was originally the right half of a pair. Mountains enclose a vast lake, which presumably extended across the left screen (now missing) in a conventional landscape composition. The dynamic mountain and river landscape evokes the sixteenth-century monk-painter Sesson Shūkei, who developed an expressive style based on a highly personal interpretation of a popular Chinese subject, the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. The four themes embedded in the screen are (from right to left): Mountain Market in Clearing Mist, Returning Sail off Distant Shore, Autumn Moon over Lake Dongting, and Fishing Village in Evening Glow. Sesson was active in the Kantō region, which was located far from Kyoto (an established center of artistic production), and therefore developed his own distinctive style. Pasting variably sized sheets of paper onto the screen was an idiosyncrasy of his work.

Artist

Sesson Shūkei

Date

16th century

Medium

Six-panel folding screen; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of Hope Skillman Schary, 1981