Accession Number
1985/2.21

Title
Gazing at a Waterfall

Artist(s)
Yamanaka Shinten'ō

Object Creation Date
19th century

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink on silk

Dimensions
57 5/16 in. x 22 3/8 in. ( 145.55 cm x 56.8 cm )

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by a gift from Helmut Stern

Subject matter
This is a natural scene of a traveler enjoying a view with a couple of lines of poetry on the upper right. Waterfalls and mountains are commonly depicted in Japanese paintings. The artist, Yamanaka Shinten'o was a skilled painter, poet, calligrapher, and scholar. The poetic words on his painting are most likely his own. Classified as Nanga painting, Yamanaka's work takes much inspiration from Chinese landscapes. 

Physical Description
On this hanging scroll are a mountain, a figure, and a waterfall. One sharp peak of a mountain takes up more than half of the painting which has what appears to be waterfalls coming down the sides. The figure placed in the middle of the painting faces the mountain in the background with two pieces of luggage beside them on the right. They sit on a trail that has a waterfall flowing behind them. To the left is a rock overhang/outcropping that has a structure with a roof. The painting is framed on the bottom edge with leaves and trees coming from the right side. To the upper right corner is an inscription of three lines in black. To the upper right corner of the writing is a red stamp. The black writing is also followed on the left side with two red stamps as well. 

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Figures
Japan
calligraphy
figures in landscape
hanging scroll
huts
mountains
seated
trees
waterfalls