Small Retreat in the Mountains

Date1927

Maker Fukuda Kodojin Japanese, 1865-1944

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