Landscape with Fisherman in Three Scrolls c. mid 18th century

Curator: Looking at this landscape, I feel a sense of serene melancholy, like a memory fading at the edges. Editor: Here we have "Landscape with Fisherman in Three Scrolls" by Kano Yosen'in, part of the collection at the Harvard Art Museums. Note how the scroll format situates the viewer in relation to nature through the lens of artifice. Curator: It reminds me of traditional landscape paintings, placing the human figure as a small element within the vastness of nature, echoing ideas of Daoism and Zen Buddhism. It makes me think about ecological crises today. Editor: Indeed, the lone fisherman can be seen as a symbol of humanity's place within the environment, underscoring themes of isolation, survival, and perhaps even a critique of anthropocentrism. Curator: I am left contemplating our role within nature's narrative. Editor: For me, it speaks to the enduring beauty and precarity of our relationship with the natural world.