Autumn and Winter Landscapes

Each of the two scrolls is a small picture less than 50 centimeters high. In the Autumn scene, a riverside path extends into the distance and a pavilion can be seen far away. The elements are gathered in the lower half of the picture, and the broad blank space above conveys the expanse of the autumn sky. In the Winter scene, a boldly sheer cliff occupies the center, and the small buildings convey the harshness of withered winter.

If you follow either picture with your eyes from the bottom up, you notice that the positions of the elements are clearly distinguished from near to far. Such a logical way of building the picture was not seen in landscape painting before Sesshu. The strong, angular ink lines also support the sense of secure space.

Sesshu was a Zen monk and painter of the Muromachi period who studied under Japanese predecessors such as Josetsu and Shubun, and then traveled to Ming-dynasty China to study the various kinds of painting of the time. He established his own constructed approach and forceful brushwork, and greatly influenced later landscape painting. This work was originally handed down at Manshuin in Kyoto and is now held by the Tokyo National Museum.