Landscape in Ni Tsan Style

Accession Number
1983/2.247

Title
Landscape in Ni Tsan Style

Artist(s)
Hine Taizan

Object Creation Date
1867

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink on silk

Dimensions
68 11/16 in. x 33 7/8 in. ( 174.5 cm x 86 cm )

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Taizan was a native of Hine Village, on the outskirts of Osaka. He initially studied the classical court style of the Tosa School, but switched his alliegance to Chinese literati painting under the influence of the famous calligrapher and scholar Nukina Kaioku (see no. 1).
This landscape is in direct homage to Ni Zan, one of the so-called “four masters” of Yuan literati painting. Ni was known for his fastidious personality, which is reflected in his spare compositions—often split between a foreground island with an empty pavilion and distant hills—and his grudging use of ink. Ni’s paintings tend to be relatively small works on paper that communicate as deeply personal statements; here, Taizan elevates Ni’s style to iconic and public status by reworking it at a monumental scale.
Maribeth Graybill, for the exhibition "Japanese Visions of China," 9/21/02 - 1/26/03

Subject matter
This landscape is in direct homage to Ni Zan, one of the so-called “four masters” of Yuan literati painting. Ni was known for his fastidious personality, which is reflected in his spare compositions—often split between a foreground island with an empty pavilion and distant hills—and his grudging use of ink. Ni’s paintings tend to be relatively small works on paper that communicate as deeply personal statements; here, Taizan elevates Ni’s style to iconic and public status by reworking it at a monumental scale.

Physical Description
A lone pavilion sits among trees in the foreground. Birds flock nearby, and in the background are more trees and rocky formations. Calligraphic texts in in the upper right corner.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Birds
Japan
Landscapes
boats
buildings
calligraphy
calligraphy (process)
hanging scroll
hills
huts
mountains
pavilions (garden structures)
trees
water

3 Related Resources

Ink and Realisms
(Part of: Artist Associations and Art Movements)
Japan Pax Tokugawa 1600-1868
(Part of: Empires and Colonialism)
Landscape and Nature, Comparative and Historical
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

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