山水図屏風|Landscape

Watanabe Shikō 渡辺始興

first half of the 18th century · Two-panel folding screen; ink on paper · Asian Art

A narrow body of water is surrounded by land on three sides, with the fourth opening to allow a slender sailboat to come into view. Contrasting ink tones, from coal black to pearl gray, are united by the watery gray wash. Around 1699 the painter of this small, lyrical landscape helped the legendary Rinpa masters Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) and his younger brother Kenzan (1663–1743) in their venture into the commercial production of decorated ceramics. Watanabe Shikō, then still a teenager, decorated some of their wares with Kano-style painting. Shikō subsequently created a style of his own, in which he successfully synthesized the academic orthodoxy of the Kano school and the decorative style of Rinpa.

Artist

Watanabe Shikō 渡辺始興

Date

first half of the 18th century

Medium

Two-panel folding screen; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2004