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Horseman in Snowy Landscape

early 19th century

Japanese, 1761 - 1832

Yokoi Kinkoku, known as a literary artist and mountain-dwelling monk in the late Edo period, was a devoted follower of the great literary artist Yosa Buson (1711-83). Though based on Buson's approach, Kinkoku freely expressed feeling in his own work by using unrestricted brushstrokes. As a monk, he traveled on foot from place to place until he was sixty-three, sometimes creating drawings and paintings in exchange for food or charity. In this painting, the artist sympathetically depicted four travelers on a snowy mountain trail at night, as if it reflected the hard life of Kinkoku himself as a mountain priest. The artist also wrote a poem about the clear snow scene at night.

Ink and color on paper

52 1/2 x 10 1/2in. (133.4 x 26.7cm)

Gift of Dr. R. Joseph Monsen and Dr. Elaine R. Monsen

2009.69.2

Provenance: Purchased by Joseph Monsen, 1980

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Fall and Winter in Japan", October 22, 2002 - February 23, 2003

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