Autumn and Winter Landscapes
Sesshū Tōyō
This pair of ink paintings on paper by the Zen monk Sesshū Tōyō belongs to the Chinese-style landscapes that shaped Japanese ink painting during the Muromachi period. The two vertical scrolls set autumn against winter. In the first, a river seems to climb up the paper toward a distant building, while the nearly empty upper area suggests a faintly drawn mountain and sky, with two figures in conversation at the lower left. In the second, a snowy cliff and a lone figure walking toward a far-off structure stand out against bare trees. Sesshū balances white areas that stand for snow with greys that describe rock texture, shadow and the slush of melting snow, while the blurred background suggests falling snow. Reflecting the Zen habit of contemplating nature, the work is also a National Treasure, a sign of its standing in Japanese painting.
- Painter
- Sesshū Tōyō
- Museum
- Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo
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