White Herons
Maruyama Ōkyo 円山応挙 Japanese
Not on view
Blank paper is left in reserve for the bodies of the herons, silhouetted by soft, misty wash rather than ink outline. Instead of depending on images from copybooks for inspiration, Maruyama Ōkyo, founder of the Maruyama-Shijo school and proponent of naturalism in painting, practiced sketching from life. He created images of birds, animals, and fish drawn from every angle, and captured the atmospheric effects of rain, mist, and snow.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.