Red Cliff c. 1830s

Yamamoto Baiitsu painted this Red Cliff with ink on paper, sometime before his death in 1856. The hazy monochromatic landscape is made with a brush technique known as “boneless painting”, where forms are created without clear outlines and defined only through washes of ink. Baiitsu was part of a literati tradition, where painting was seen as an avocation for scholar-officials, rather than a profession. But his family was involved in the sake trade, which gives us a glimpse of the social context of his artmaking. The literati valued amateurism and personal expression, and this sensibility is apparent in the soft textures and tonal variations of the painting. We can appreciate Baiitsu’s image not just as a picture, but also as the result of a highly skilled practice, one that has imbued the artwork with a delicate, ethereal quality. Understanding these material and social factors allows us to appreciate the full meaning of Baiitsu's art.