Past Exhibitions
- Copying Chinese Paintings
- February 20, 2018 - March 18, 2018
Chinese paintings have served as important models for Japanese artists for centuries. This trend continued in the Edo period (1615–1868), a time when artistic innovation abounded. As can be seen from the small-sized sketches (shukuzu) of Kano Tan’yū (1602–1674), the Kano school painters focused on gathering imagery from Song and Yuan dynasty paintings, creating a visual archive that helped them maintain dominance in their field. Literati artists such as Yosa Buson focused on the Ming and Qing dynasty paintings recently imported into Japan and forged new painting styles based on the brushwork techniques of those Chinese artists. This mini-exhibition, curated by the museum’s Chinese paintings curator, focuses on the influence of China on early modern Japanese painting. It serves as a precursor to the upcoming spring special exhibition, The Genius of Ike no Taiga: Carefree Traveler, Legendary Painter.
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