Hirai Baisen (1889–1969) 
Temple 
Japan, c. 1945–1969 
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper 
Gift of Terry Welch, 2021 (2021-03-081)

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Temple continues the trajectory of experimentation that characterized Baisen’s career from such paintings as Fishing in the Shade and Autumn at the height of his success, to Waterfall in Early Autumn, which displays increasing movement toward abstraction. The basic compositional elements of traditional landscape painting can still be identified in Temple by their placement, with trees in the foreground, clouds in the midground, and peaks in the background. However, both the trees and the mountains are made entirely from different tones of saturated ink washes, taking the abstraction of Waterfall in Early Autumn one step further. 
 
Interestingly, Baisen reintroduces narrative elements such as the traveler in the lower register and the pagoda in the distance; these elements are absent from Waterfall in Early Autumn. At the same time, these small recognizable features serve, if anything, to emphasize the near–total abstraction of the world around them. From the octagonal brick pagoda, we can identify this as a scene from China, which Baisen had visited before the war. 
 
After WWII Baisen no longer participated in the annual national exhibition that had brought him such success early in his career. He had an extensive network of private patrons, known as the Plum Promotion Society, who continued to commission works from him through the end of his life.