School of Fish
Soga Shohaku
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Classification
hanging scroll
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
45753
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Soga Shōhaku used a wide format here to depict a school of salmon swimming along the current of a stream or river, with the fish looping in front of the viewer before heading off into the distance. The farther away they appear to be, the more abbreviated they become, enhancing the sense of their speed. In the 18th century, Japanese artists increasingly relied on shasei (sketches) drawn from direct observation to conceive their compositions. They also began to use shasei as the basis for large-sc...