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29

Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783-1856) 山本梅逸

“Waterfall” 1845

Hanging scroll, ink on silk
139.9 x 49.5 cm. (55 1/8 x 10 1/2 in.)

Inscription
“During summer of the year 1845, painted by Baiitsu, called Ryo.”

Artists’s seals:
Ryo in; Baiitsu

Recent provenance: Shoji Kyozo, Akita

Published:
Kokka, Tokyo, no. 399, 1923, p. 55.

(see write up below)

In a stunningly vibrant composition, one with abundant visual kinetic energy and surface articulation, the theme of water flowing with great rapidity over a series of falls is brought to life with immense technical facility and great imaginative flair. The composition is arranged in accord with the stable vertical and horizontal axis of the picture, but the visual impact is governed by the deviations from true vertical of the water course as it falls and by the horizontal orientation of the texture strokes applied to the surrounding rocks and cliff surfaces. Variations in textures for the trees and rocks enliven the picture plane, ensuring that the work succeeds as both picture and as painting.

A biography of this artist may be found in the following entry for a pair of landscape paintings done eight years later.

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