Tanomura Chokunyū (1814–1907)
Great View of Mountain and River
Japan, dated 1896
Handscroll; ink and color on silk
Purchase, 2005 (13155.1)
VIEW HI-RES IMAGE
Read from right to left, this handscroll begins somewhat unusually with a path that enters not from the lower right corner, but rather from the midground, descending past a group of buildings in the lower corner to curve around the hill to a humble dwelling. There, a scholar dressed in red sits and looks out to sailboats on a river, beyond which lies a distant peak. The viewer’s attention is then drawn to a stand of pines and autumn foliage in the foreground, under which rests a pavilion with another (or perhaps the same) scholar. The pavilion is situated to offer a view across an expansive grove of bamboo to a waterfall in the distance. From there, the viewer is brought to the midground where two scholars (one dressed in red, and perhaps the same as before) greet each other in front of the gate to an expansive hermitage. The beginning of the composition is echoed at the end by a path descending beyond the painting in the lower left corner.
This masterful painting was done at the height of Chokunyū’s influence, in the same year that his private school merged with the influential Japan Nanga Association. Through the many successful students in both the Kyoto Prefecture Painting School that Chokunyū helped establish and his private studio, Chokunyū rose to a position of respect at the pinnacle of the Kyoto art world.
Further listening
Chokunyū leads the viewer on a visual journey through an imagined landscape. Read from right to left, this handscroll begins with a path that enters from the middle ground, descending past a group of buildings in the lower corner to curve around the hill to a humble dwelling. There, a scholar dressed in red sits, looking out to sailboats on a river, beyond which lies a distant peak. The viewer’s attention is then drawn to a stand of pines and autumn foliage in the foreground, under which rests a pavilion with another (or perhaps the same) scholar looking out upon an expansive grove of bamboo and a distant waterfall. The artist carries the viewer’s eye further through the middle ground where two scholars (one dressed in red, and perhaps the same as before) greet each other at the gate of an expansive hermitage. The beginning of the composition is echoed at the end by a path descending beyond the painting in the lower left corner.