Travellers on Horseback on a Mountain in Spring
Artist
Yosa, Buson
(Japanese, 1716–1783)
Date1735–1784
Mediumscreen; ink, color and gold on paper
Dimensionsoverall: 170.5 x 268.9 cm (67 1/8 x 105 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineEliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William Russell Paine and Frances Thomas Crocker Paine
Terms
Object number1961.7
Label TextIn contrast to most Japanese painting schools of the Edo period (1600-1868) Nanga artists, including Buson, looked to Chinese scholar/literati painting for inspiration. They knew of the work of these cultivated amateurs through woodblock-printed books. The woodblock medium changed the intentionally bland brushwork of the Chinese style into stronger two-dimensional design, creating simplified surface patterns and flat ink tones that appealed to the Japanese taste.
Buson used a Chinese theme for this work, but instead of imitating a specific prototype, he followed the Japanese idea of selecting a style appropriate to his subject. The asymmetrical composition recalls the type created by the professional painters of the Southern Song (1127-1271) and Ming (1368-1644) periods, whose work formed the foundation of Japanese ink-painting styles. Travelers on Horseback may be one of a set of four screens depicting the seasons-a major theme in Japanese painting. Buson was also one of Japan's best haiku poets and the lyrical style of this painting reveals qualities found in his poetry: momentary impressions characterized in simplified evocative images.ProvenanceHarry C. Nail Jr., Atherton CAOn View
Not on viewCollections
Hayakawa Shokosai III
Japan; Meiji Period (1868–1912)
