This is a resource for Stamps School of Art students, especially for Drawing II.

36 Items in this Learning Collection
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Winter

Accession Number
1961/2.3

Title
Winter

Artist(s)
Matsubayashi Keigetsu

Object Creation Date
Autumn 1922

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Dimensions
56 7/8 in. x 16 5/8 in. ( 144.4 cm x 42.2 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Yoichi Nakajima

Label copy
Gallery Rotation Fall 2013
Matsubayashi Keigetsu
Japan, 1876–1963
Winter Landscape
Showa period (1926–1989)
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
Gift Yoichi Nakajima, 1961/2.3
This romantic idealization of nature draws on the centuries-old tradition of literati (amateur scholar-artist) painting in both China and Japan. For scholars and other members of the intelligentsia, nature was a place of mental refuge, even if it was only encountered through art. In this striking scroll, Matsubayashi Keigetsu, a successful commercial painter in the modern metropolis of Tokyo, presents a dramatic view of a winter landscape. Its high, snow covered mountains and the tall, bare trees offer little solace to the lone traveler making his way through the forest. This painting is a companion to Summer Landscape, in which a scholar bends his ear to the sound of a rushing stream under deep blue-green foliage. When viewed together, the scrolls demonstrate the stark contrasts of the two seasons. The painting is inscribed “Autumn of 1922.”This romantic idealization of nature draws on the centuries-old tradition of literati (amateur scholar-artist) painting in both China and Japan. For scholars and other members of the intelligentsia, nature was a place of mental refuge, even if it was only encountered through art. In this striking scroll, Matsubayashi Keigetsu, a successful commercial painter in the modern metropolis of Tokyo, presents a dramatic view of a winter landscape. Its high, snow covered mountains and the tall, bare trees offer little solace to the lone traveler making his way through the forest. This painting is a companion to Summer Landscape, in which a scholar bends his ear to the sound of a rushing stream under deep blue-green foliage. When viewed together, the scrolls demonstrate the stark contrasts of the two seasons. The painting is inscribed “Autumn of 1922.”
Label from Fall Gallery Rotation, 2013
See commentary for 1961/2.2.

Subject matter
The painting appears to be showing a traveler's journey. The figure to the bottom left is a traveler walking into the snowy mountains. The trees are barren and the snow appears to be stuck perhaps showing a scene in the middle of winter. 

Physical Description
In conversation with 1961/2.2 (a summer version), this painting depicts a winter scene. The painting includes trees, snow, water, mountains, a small bridge, and a small individual. The individual is wearing a backpack walking on the lower left along a trail. The water is on the lower right side. Trees take up about 2/3 of the scene, appearing alongside the path as well as in the mountains. The higher up the mountains go, the more barren and snowier they get. At the top right is an inscription in black and red ink. The painting is framed with a dark green flower-patterned cloth. The top and bottom of the painting are also lined with a different lighter brown cloth. 

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

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
Japan
Landscapes
figures in landscape
hanging scroll
mountains
snow
trees
winter

2 Related Resources

Ink and Realisms
(Part of: Artist Associations and Art Movements)
Landscape and Nature, Comparative and Historical
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted