Deel drie, Tôhoku gebied 1917

Editor: Okay, so this drawing is "Deel drie, Tōhoku gebied," created by Hirafuku Hyakusui in 1917. It's done with ink and paper and currently held at the Rijksmuseum. There's something so simple yet profound about the landscape… almost like a haiku in visual form. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It feels to me like Hyakusui is capturing a moment of serene observation. You know, those fleeting instances when the world seems to exhale. The economy of line, that pale blue ink wash... it suggests a landscape both observed and deeply felt, wouldn't you agree? I feel as if it presents us not with what is 'there' but what is remembered of 'there.' Do you catch that whisper of memory? Editor: I do. The sparseness amplifies that sense of memory… like only the essential elements remain. Is that simplification common for landscape drawings of this period? Curator: To some extent. Artists working at the time felt pulled in a tension between tradition and modernity. They tried to represent landscapes which echoed emotions while hinting at larger concerns – about culture and the nature that sustains it, or doesn’t, especially during that time of significant cultural transformation. Perhaps this reflects Hyakusui's own search for stability within change? What does this emotional resonance make you think about? Editor: It makes me wonder if Hyakusui was trying to capture something eternal within the temporal world... Thanks! Curator: Yes, yes absolutely, and in turn it helps *us* to do just that for a while too. I am so glad!