Landscape in the Manner of Ni Zan Possibly 1838

Nakabayashi Chikutō made this hanging scroll with ink on paper, calling it "Landscape in the Manner of Ni Zan." It’s an intriguing title because it points to a revival of an ancient style of landscape painting that happened in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. The image is constructed with visual codes that would have been familiar to people who followed artistic trends in Japan at that time. Ni Zan was a Chinese painter who lived during the Yuan Dynasty. His landscapes were very simple, almost abstract, and they were often seen as a form of protest against the Mongol rulers of China. Nakabayashi Chikutō and other Japanese artists looked back to Ni Zan as a model for their own art, at a time when Japan was going through a period of social and political upheaval. The art historian's job is to investigate the precise ways in which this painting reflects the social conditions of its time and to consider its role in shaping cultural values. We can start by looking at the writings of Nakabayashi Chikutō and his contemporaries, as well as the records of the art market and the patronage system.