山中無暦図 (Sanchū mureki zu)|Timelessness in the Mountains

Yano Kyōson 矢野橋村

1920 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk · Asian Art

A single man, wearing a bright blue and white robe and carrying a walking stick, makes his way along a mountain path in the foreground of this landscape painting by Yano Kyōson, an important figure in art circles in the city of Osaka in the early to mid-twentieth century. The man’s lonely path proceeds in the shadows of two towering black peaks far above—rendered in a concentration of ink dots applied on top of ink wash—taking him through rough, reddish-orange foothills beneath a tree-topped ridge. Yano was an important figure in painting circles in the area of Osaka and was closely involved in the establishment of a number of arts and arts educational organizations over the course of his career. Before the war, he set up a private art school in Osaka, a city that at the time had no training facilities for young artists; his school, the Osaka Bijutsu Gakkō (Osaka College of Art and Design), was destroyed during the Pacific War by American air raids, which leveled a nearby military arsenal. Yano also helped establish the Nippon Nanga’in, a national organization devoted to the art of ink painting, and served as its inaugural Vice President. He later briefly served as the organization’s President, shortly before he passed away.

Artist

Yano Kyōson 矢野橋村

Date

1920

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2021