Ink paintings were first made in China during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907). In Japan, artists learned from those Chinese paintings and began enthusiastically making their own from the end of the Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333) to the Muromachi Period (1392-1573). Sesshu is known as one of the leading painters of the time. It is said that the Tang dynasty painter Yin Zhongrong was able to produce five distinct colors using black ink only. Later painters followed his lead and were able to adjust the darkness of the ink to express light and color. In this work, on the right, the cliff is drawn in dark ink while the trees growing from it are depicted in slightly lighter ink. Contrasting with the dark cliffs, the luminous, mysterious waterfall is skillfully depicted.
(KASHIWAGI Tomoh)
Ink paintings were first made in China during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907). In Japan, artists learned from those Chinese paintings and began enthusiastically making their own from the end of the Kamakura Period (1185 to 1333) to the Muromachi Period (1392-1573). Sesshu is known as one of the leading painters of the time. It is said that the Tang dynasty painter Yin Zhongrong was able to produce five distinct colors using black ink only. Later painters followed his lead and were able to adjust the darkness of the ink to express light and color. In this work, on the right, the cliff is drawn in dark ink while the trees growing from it are depicted in slightly lighter ink. Contrasting with the dark cliffs, the luminous, mysterious waterfall is skillfully depicted.
(KASHIWAGI Tomoh)