Egrets in Willow [left of the pair Egrets in Plum and Willow] by Sesson Shūkei 雪村周継

Egrets in Willow [left of the pair Egrets in Plum and Willow] c. 16th century

ink-on-paper

toned paper

water colours

japan

possibly oil pastel

ink-on-paper

oil painting

coffee painting

underpainting

painting painterly

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

watercolor

"Egrets in Willow" is a six-panel screen attributed to the Japanese artist Sesson Shūkei. It dates from around the 16th century. The screen depicts egrets in a willow grove, with a delicate and elegant style. Sesson Shūkei was known for his subtle use of ink, his meticulous attention to detail, and his ability to capture the beauty of nature. This screen is a masterful example of his work. The artwork is currently housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Born in remote eastern Japan, far from the cultural center of Kyoto, Sesson Shūkei taught himself to paint by studying the brush styles of earlier Chinese and Japanese masters, whose works were held in many old collections in the region. These screens reveal his keen interest in the Chinese Zen painter-monk Muqi (c. 1210–after 1269). Of the dozens of extant paintings by Sesson, a Zen priest himself, none so clearly attests to his admiration for Muqi as this misty, moonlit scene of herons cavorting around a gnarled old plum tree and willow. Using the so-called “boneless” technique for which Muqi was famous, Sesson avoided contour lines, relying instead on soft washes of ink. He also borrowed several motifs directly from paintings by Muqi. Indeed, this pair of screens is as much a visual eulogy to the Chinese master as they are an evocative picture of auspicious bird and trees.