Huang and Tosa

Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu, Bamboo in the Four Seasons, late 15th to early 16th century, ink, color and gold leaf on paper image source

detail, Huang Gongwang, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, 1350, handscroll, ink on paper image source 

These two paintings, while speaking to the passage of time, exhibit different styles due to their locations, and the contexts in which they would have been viewed. Huang Gongwang's handscroll was a creative outlet meant for private contemplation while Tosa Mitsunobu's panels were meant to inspire the public.  Both artists are using popular local techniques to create the illusion of passing time. 

Chinese landscape painters, like Huang, were often Daoist looking to escape daily life by communing with nature. Mountains and water were important themes to the Daoists. They relied upon brushstrokes to give emotion to the painting. The above image, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountain, is an example of an imaginary landscape that was painted and embellished over a long period of time. The painting was a 22 foot long handscroll. This means that the viewer would have been intimately looking upon the scroll bit by bit as the painting was unwound. There is no way that the viewer could have seen the painting in its entirety. The viewer would have been on a journey through time as he/she focused on the sections flowing through the hands.(1)


Japanese painters during the Muromachi period would have followed Shintoism or Buddhism and utilized the Yamato-e painting tradition which is a term that describes something that is Japanese.(2) The above image, Bamboo in the Four Seasons, is an example of this because the subject matter, the changing seasons, is considered to be a Japanese theme. Another example of Yamato-e was the use of bright thick pigments like what was used to paint the spring flowers and autumn ivy. A person standing in a room with the five and a half foot tall painting would have been able to see the entire work. The purpose of the painting was to inspire Renga, a form of collaborative poetry that was popular at the time, and would have been viewed while the poetry was being recited. It was originally a multi-paneled wall that may have opened up to a bamboo garden.(3)


Huang was in his late seventies living as a recluse when he began his masterpiece. He used many different brush styles and techniques denoting the different moods and atmospheres. Painting was a means to convey his inner self which was a popular concept with Chinese painters. He painted when inspired and captured the passage of time through the use of multiple perspectives and subtle changes in textures and spacing. It was a deeply intimate painting that was not meant for public consumption.(1) The Tosa painting also captured the passage of time but through less subtle methods. For example, we know the far right panel represents spring due to the presence of violets and shepherd’s purse flowers. As the viewer moves to the left, summer, autumn, and winter follow, each containing elements that would denote the season. The elements used were part of a poetic language called Kigo that were meant to enhance the Renga recital. It is important to note that while the use of the bamboo element was considered to be Chinese in nature, the transition of the seasons would have been Japanese.(3)


Japanese landscape painters, while influenced by the Chinese, were able to develop their own language. The passage of time may be experienced universally, but the illustration of the concept varies culturally. The different techniques used in Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountain and Bamboo in the Four Seasons highlight how two regions can offer distinct viewpoints of the same idea.



Sources


1.Yamato-e, Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System, Jaanus, accessed February 12, 2021, http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/y/yamatoe.htm.

2. Hung Sheng, “Huang Gongwang, “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,” Smarthistory, November 28, 2015, accessed February 14, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/huang-gongwang-dwelling-in-the-fuchun-mountains/.

3. Dr. Sonia Coman and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Bamboo in the Four Seasons: painting and poetry in Japan," Smarthistory, March 16, 2018, accessed February 14, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/tosa-mistunobu.