Rock and Waves

dated 1773

Not on view

The many streams and rivers in the mountains around Kyoto surely were the inspiration for Ōkyo's prolific studies of rocks and water, in which he seeks to capture the peak moment of their incessant movement. This screen is one of the smaller paintings Ōkyo made of the subject, but it is a concise statement of the essential features of the wave as it lingered in his mind for so many years. Great commotion and energy converge on the obstinate stone in the center of the composition, the waves hurling themselves against it only to be thrown into the air. Ōkyo has skillfully taken advantage of the congruence between his subject and his ink-splash technique.

Artwork Details

Title: Rock and Waves
Artist: Maruyama Ōkyo 円山応挙 (Japanese, 1733–1795)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: dated 1773
Culture: Japan
Medium: Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 22 in. × 53 3/8 in. (55.9 × 135.6 cm)
Overall: 29 1/4 in. × 74 in. (74.3 × 188 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Seymour Fund, 1957
Object Number: 57.156.1
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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