Forbidden to the Vulgar
late 1800s-early 1900s
Medium
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
painting only: 134.6 × 51.1 cm · with mount: w. 67.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession Number
1964.367
Tags
About this artwork
Gyokudo painted in the Nanga style (literary men's school of painting), originally influenced by 18th-century Chinese painting. Most of his landscapes are variations on the theme of tall mountains and remote huts. Note the spontaneity of the brushstrokes and how the dry, rough ink works with the texture of the paper. Born to an ancient samurai family, Gyokudo was trained in the Chinese classics and studied painting, poetry, and the koto (kind of zither). He devoted himself to art and music, pain...