Shijō Street in central Kyoto, where Goshun opened the studio that came to be known as the Shijō school, was also the site of the artist’s residence. Born to a family of officials at the government mint, Goshun studied with the Nanga, or literati school, artist Yosa Buson (1716–1783). Following several years as a Buddhist monk in Ikeda, he joined a group of artists in Kyoto in 1787 to work with Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795), whose school combined traditional methods of Japanese painting with aspects of Western realism and perspective.
In this composition, Chinese fishermen and woodcutters, their faces weathered and animated, move through a hazy spring landscape in which a hint of linear perspective indicative of Ōkyo’s influence melds with the lyricism that Goshun absorbed from Buson. The artist chose fishermen to symbolize the purity of the life of the recluse-scholar, following in the tradition of Chinese literati painters.
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This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
.1, right screen, overall
.2, left screen, overall
.1, right screen, panels 1 and 2
.1, right screen, panels 3 and 4
.1, right screen, panels 5 and 6
.2, left screen, panels 1 and 2
.2, left screen, panels 3 and 4
.2, left screen, panels 5 and 6
Artwork Details
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松村呉春筆 山樵漁夫図屏風
Title:Woodcutters and Fishermen
Artist:Matsumura Goshun (Japanese, 1752–1811)
Period:Edo period (1615–1868)
Date:ca. 1790–95
Culture:Japan
Medium:Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper
Dimensions:Image (each): 65 15/16 in. × 12 ft. 2 7/16 in. (167.5 × 372 cm) Overall with mounting: 67 1/2 in. × 12 ft. 4 in. (171.5 × 376 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Accession Number:2015.300.206.1, .2
Set against rolling hills and an enclosed lagoon, woodcutters trudge among the pines and fishermen relax on a small boat. The hazy atmosphere and delicate flush of the willows suggest the warmth of spring. Saturated black ink, limited to a few dots and details, accents the mellow shades of ocher, palest blue, and tawny bisque.
Most of the workmen are old; their garments indicate that they are Chinese. The woodcutters, heavily laden with bundles of kindling, are shown emerging from the woods into a clearing, and the fishermen—some with expressions of bemused animation—enjoy a tea break. Perhaps one of them has just told a good story, catching the attention of the two cormorants on a nearby tree. In this idyllic depiction, the artist has chosen the fisherman to symbolize the lofty purity of the life of the recluse scholar, following in the tradition of the Chinese literati painters.
Matumura Goshun (1752–1811), was born to a family that for four generations had served as officials at the government mint.[1] His father, Kyōtei, lived on Shijō Street, in central Kyoto, and it was here that Goshun was probably born and raised. In his later years he arranged for nearly all his pupils to live close by on this same street, and his studio came to be known as the Shijō school. The mint where Goshun was employed as foreman, following the family tradition, was established by the Edo bakufu to purchase gold bullion and to mint coins. Exactly when Goshun left this much-respected position to start a career as a painter is unknown, though as a young man from a wealthy upper-class family, he would have studied painting as a matter of course.
Goshun's first teacher was Ōnishi Suigetsu (fl. ca. 1780), but he soon became a pupil of Yosa Buson (cat. nos. 155, 156), a much more influential artist. Goshun—who at the start of his career used the name "Gekkei"—studied both painting and haikai verse under Buson. He proved to be an outstanding pupil, and Buson generously recommended him to his own patrons. Their association must have begun when Goshun was in his early twenties, as a painting that is quite similar to the style of Buson is dated 1774 by inscription.[2] Paintings from this early period usually derive from known works by Buson and can easily be mistaken for those by the master.[3] Professionally and personally, Goshun remained close to Buson until the latter's death, in 1783.
After the loss of both his wife and his father in 1781, Goshun left Kyoto to live in Ikeda (part of modern Osaka). There he took the tonsure and, in 1782, adopted the name "Goshun." He remained in Ikeda until 1789, a brief but productive period. In 1787, Goshun joined a group of six artists headed by the realist master Maruyama Ōkyo (cat. no. 115), on a project to paint sliding-door panels at Daijoji, northwest of Kyoto. The contract refers to Goshun as "Buson's star pupil," indicating that although he was working under Ōkyo, he was still regarded as Buson's disciple.[4]
It is generally agreed that Goshun shifted his artistic allegiance to the Maruyama school after becoming closely acquainted with Ōkyo at Kiun'in, Kyoto, where the two men took refuge after the great fire that devastated Kyoto on New Year's Day 1788, for Goshun's work shows a noticeable stylistic shift toward the Maruyama aesthetics about that year. The artist's absorption of Ōkyo's techniques is reflected in his naturalistic landscape details, in his implementation of linear perspective, and in the plasticity of his forms. These gains are offset, however, by the loss of the shimmering luminosity and elegant lyricism that distinguish his earlier, Buson-influenced works—exemplified by the Burke screens.
The signature on the screen at the right is inscribed in rich, dark ink, in the soft gyōsho (running) style, as are the signatures on most of the paintings Goshun made under the influence of Buson. The signature on the left screen is written in clearly articulated kaisho (standard) script, which is how it appears on his Ōkyo-influenced works. It is believed that Goshun first used gyōsho for his signature, then combined it with kaisho for the second character, shun, switching finally to the exclusive use of kaisho sometime before 1795.[5] Here, the signature in kaisho is still tentative, without the leftward slant that became increasingly pronounced in later works. The screens may therefore be dated to the first half of the 1790s.
[Miyeko Murase 2000, Bridge of Dreams]
[1] Okada Rihei 1960, pp. 2–8. See also lnazuka Takeshi 1919, pts. 1, 2 and Inazuka Takcshi 1920, pp. 392–96. [2] Mochizuki Shinjo 1940, pl. 2. [3] Suntory Museum of Art 1981. [4] Yamakawa Takeshi 1977b, p. 116. [5] For Goshun's seals and signatures, see Ozaki Yoshiyuki 1989, pp. 24–34.
Signature: Signed "Goshun utsusu" on right screen, "Goshun" on left screen.
[ N. V. Hammer, Inc. , New York, 1970; sold to Burke]; Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation , New York (1970– 2015; donated to MMA)
New York. Asia House Gallery. "Byōbu: Japanese Screens from New York Collections," January 14, 1971–March 14, 1971.
Richmond. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Jewel Rivers: Japanese Art from The Burke Collection.," October 25, 1993–January 2, 1994.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art. "Jewel Rivers: Japanese Art from The Burke Collection.," February 26, 1994–April 24, 1994.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "Jewel Rivers: Japanese Art from The Burke Collection.," October 14, 1994–January 1, 1995.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Japanese Art from The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 30–June 25, 2000.
Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," July 5, 2005–August 19, 2005.
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," October 4, 2005–December 11, 2005.
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," January 24, 2006–March 5, 2006.
Miho Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 15, 2006–June 11, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Celebrating the Arts of Japan: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," October 20, 2015–May 14, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination," July 24, 2019–January 31, 2021.
Tsuji Nobuo 辻惟雄, Mary Griggs Burke, Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha 日本経済新聞社, and Gifu-ken Bijutsukan 岐阜県美術館. Nyūyōku Bāku korekushon-ten: Nihon no bi sanzennen no kagayaki ニューヨーク・バーク・コレクション展 : 日本の美三千年の輝き(Enduring legacy of Japanese art: The Mary Griggs Burke collection). Exh. cat. [Tokyo]: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 2005, cat. no. 114.
Murase, Miyeko, Il Kim, Shi-yee Liu, Gratia Williams Nakahashi, Stephanie Wada, Soyoung Lee, and David Sensabaugh. Art Through a Lifetime: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection. Vol. 1, Japanese Paintings, Printed Works, Calligraphy. [New York]: Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, [2013], p. 332, cat. no. 406.
Carpenter, John T. The Poetry of Nature: Edo Paintings from the Fishbein-Bender Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018, pp. 148–49, fig. 44.
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