Ink Plum
Heisen (Byōsen) Myōshitsu Japanese
Not on view
A branch of plum still covered with snow but beginning to blossom, and a plum branch in full bloom are depicted in this pair of hanging scrolls, each of which bears a single crimson seal of the artist along the lower right-hand border. Plum blossoms were symbolic of the arrival of spring in both China and Japan, and were a frequent subject in Japanese seasonal poetry, but following the arrival of Chinese ink paintings of plums in Japan, they became a popular subject for Zen ink painters. In the left-hand painting, blank space surrounded by wash represents snow and the newly emerging blossoms; the right-hand scroll features more sweeping brush strokes of dark ink.
Little is known about Heisen Myōshitsu, a painter mentioned in the Koga Biko (a biographical “dictionary” of artists published around 1850), save that he was a Zen monk. Like other Zen ink painters of his era, he was clearly influenced by Chinese ink painters of the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1260–1368) dynasties.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
