tempera, painting, watercolor
tempera
painting
asian-art
landscape
watercolor
orientalism
watercolor
Dimensions: 33 7/8 × 141 3/16 in. (86.04 × 358.62 cm) (image)
Copyright: Public Domain
Kano Tan'yū created *Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers*, using ink and color on paper, sometime in the 17th century. The landscape is subtly composed, with pale washes of ink creating the illusion of great distance. The paper support has a warm tone that contrasts with the darker ink. Note the way in which the artist manipulated the ink to produce various effects of shading and texture. This wasn't just a matter of technique; it was a highly disciplined practice with deep cultural significance. Kano Tan'yū was part of a lineage of painters who served the shogunate, and this screen would have been made in a professional workshop, with assistants preparing the materials and carrying out some of the labor. While the master artist had ultimate responsibility for the quality of the work, the final product reflects a collective effort. Considering the materials and the processes, alongside the social context, adds to our understanding of this beautiful artwork, and the artistic traditions out of which it was created.
Comments
At the top center of each panel are vertical rectangles drawn in, as if they are incomplete and should have been filled in with poems. From left to right, panel one: "Evening Snow over the River", Landscape with huts at lower left corner, peaks around the center.Panel two: "Night Rain over the Xiao and Xing", The end of the landscape from the bottom corner of panel one slightly extends to the left edge of panel two. Otherwise, a cluster of land formations around center, painted in a manner indicating distance.Panel three: "Autumn Moon over Lake Dong Ting", The cluster of land formations from panel two continues to panel three. This continuation is around the center left of the panel.Panel Four: "Geese Alighting on a Sandbank", Landscape at the lower right corner featuring one tree prominantly, and at bottom. Horizontal lines around center of panel indicating landscape in the far distance.Panel Five: "Evening Glow over a Fishing Village", Landscape from panel four continues to lower left corner of this panel. Prominent feature is a hut. Horizontal lines and areas of wash indicating landscapes in the distant background around center of panel.Panel Six:"Returning Sails from Distant Shores", It becomes clear that there is water around the landscapes as there are two boats with sails on this panel. At the lower right corner are rock formations, then a boat slightly above. Another boat to the far left, towards the left edge of the panel. This boat is drawn slightly smaller indicating that it is farther away from the viewer. Landscape in the back or at bottom half of top half.Panel Seven: "Evening Bell from a Distant Temple", The landscape from top half of panel six continues along left edge of this panel. Atop this landscape is a multi-storied pagoda, some mist to the bottom of it, then a waterfall which falls almost parallel to the left edge of screen. Slight landscape at bottom left corner, continuing from panel six. At lower right corner are angular rocks and some foliage.Panel Eight: "Morning
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