Sansuiga Sumi Ink Landscape Painting by Sesson Shukei

[Iaido dude]

Sesson Shūkei (雪村周継 1504-1589) was a Muromachi Period Soto Zen monk and self-taught artist who is considered the most distinguished and individualistic talent among the numerous painters who worked in the style of Sesshū, the 15th-century artist considered the greatest of the Japanese suiboku-ga (“water-ink”) painters. The two are referred to as "Sesshū of the west, Sesson of the east". He studied the paintings of Shūbun (a suiboku-ga artist active in the first half of the 15th century) and later, from 1533, those of Sesshū and called himself Sesson Shūkei in tribute to the two masters. He worked in a dramatic style that generally accentuated idiosyncrasy, humor, and exaggeration in his approach to subjects, whether figural or landscape. This sansuiga (ink landscape painting) work is an excellent example of his almost calligraphic brushwork style. The boatmen are depicted in a sunset scene, but the foreground is indistinct, abstract, a bit ominous, and filled with yugen (mystery). He juxtaposes heavy black ink and different shades of grey wash. Although unsigned, the seal in this work is similar to one that appears in his self-portrait, which is a Japanese national treasure.

 

 

Similar example

 

Seal comparison

[Iaido dude]

This one of "Mynah Birds Attacking an Owl" (The Metropolitan Museum) bears the same seal and is also mumei.

 

Edited February 1 by Iaido dude

[eternal_newbie]

12 minutes ago, Iaido dude said:

This one of "Mynah Birds Attacking an Owl" (The Metropolitan Museum),

 

I've seen this happen in real life! It's a behaviour called "mobbing" by ornithologists, and its purpose is to force out potential predators or competitors for resources.

[Iaido dude]

Indeed, I see this in Walmart Superstore during Black Friday sales!