Landscape c. 19th century

Okada Beisanjin created this landscape scroll with ink and color on paper in the late 18th and early 19th century. Beisanjin belonged to a movement of Japanese artists called the literati, who sought inspiration from Chinese culture. They often worked outside the mainstream art world. You can see their influence in the materials here – natural substances, simply prepared. But don’t be fooled by the unpretentious character of ink and paper. Mastery of these materials requires years of disciplined, repetitive practice. Notice the artist’s brushwork: he varied the ink’s density and saturation, and the pace of his hand. He applied washes of pale color to suggest depth and shadow. These subtle choices all add up to a vivid, evocative image. Looking closely at works like this one reminds us that art is not just about the final image, but about the slow, skilled processes that bring it into being.