In contrast to paintings that dazzle, ink paintings, which attempt to express everything in shades of black ink, have been an important genre of Japanese painting since medieval times. Since the particles in the ink are extremely small, the technique makes it possible to express subtle shades and harmonies. To paint in ink is not to paint without color; rather, ink painting is an expressive technique capable of depicting objects even without colors. Whereas ink painting originated in China, many ink paintings were also produced in Japan by studying and imitating the Chinese techniques.
The work presented here, Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain, is a celebrated work by Chūan Shinkō, a Zen monk in the Muromachi period. The painting depicts Sakyamuni as he comes away from the mountains at the end of six years of ascetic practices after understanding the futility of tormenting the physical body. Turned sideways, the contours of Sakyamuni’s robes are expressed in thick, yet pale black lines, while his eyes and mouth are executed in fine lines using dark ink. The dignity and unworldliness of Sakyamuni are skillfully expressed by keeping the brush strokes to the very minimum.
The landscape by Kenkō Shōkei, a Zen monk in the Muromachi period who is said to have studied with Chūan Shinkō, depicts views across the water as a monk and his disciple cross a bridge at the foot of craggy mountains. The vivid space is expressed with a masterful ink painting technique strongly influenced by the style Xia Gui, a Chinese painter whose work was considered the gold standard in the art world during the Muromachi shogunate.
Chūan Shinkō
A hanging scroll, 15th century,
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln,
Fiscal year of restoraion: 2011
A hanging scroll, 15th century,
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln,
Fiscal year of restoraion: 2011
