Small Retreat in the Mountains
Date1927
Label TextKodôjin's paintings continued the literati appreciation of landscape as the appropriate allusion for the ideal life. Here massive cliffs frame the view of a small village and a towering distant peak; in the foreground a scholar sweeps the path before a simple hut. The scholar is separated from village life by a barrier of trees, and the remote location and intervening distance are emphasized by a band of clouds.
Much like this scholar-hermit set apart from village life, Kodôjin adamantly maintained his independence from the art establishment that had developed during the Taishô period (1912-1926).
Object number2010.41.49
Photo CreditPhoto: Eduardo Calderon
Published ReferencesMorioka, Michiyo; Berry, Paul. "Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, p. 222, illus. 63.Credit LineGift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
Dimensions85 1/8 x 22 3/8 in. (216.2 x 56.8 cm)
MediumInk on silk
early 1890s
Object number: 2010.41.19
Object number: 2010.41.86
Object number: 2010.41.116