Landscape with Waterfall

Aside from the outlines used to define trees and waves, this painting is built up with broad ink washes in various hues applied almost in the manner of Western watercolor and distinguished by touches of rich black ink. Several other paintings by the artist, Tani Bunchō (1763–1840), closely resemble this work. The model for the composition is one of the best-known Chinese paintings in a Japanese collection, part of a thirteenth-century diptych long attributed to the Chinese master Li Tang (ca. 1070s–1150s) and now in Kōtōin, a subtemple of Daitokuji, Kyoto.[1] In his reworking Bunchō retained the general compositional scheme of the original, but the ax-cut strokes that delineate the rocks and mountains are less structured, meshing with the dark, wet ink washes. By introducing vaporous clouds above the waterfall, Bunchō creates a mist-filled, mysterious landscape, with strong contrasts of dark and light that resemble Western chiaroscuro. Born the son of Tani Rokkoku, a well-known poet in the Chinese style, Bunchō received his early training in painting from two Kano artists, Kantō Bunrei (1706–1782) and Watanabe Gentai (1749–1822).

In his early twenties, he became interested in Western-style painting and in 1788 made the long journey from Edo to the southern port city of Nagasaki in search of a teacher who could instruct him in Western techniques. En route he stopped in Osaka to visit Kimura Kōkyō (Kenkadō, 1736–1802), the spiritual and artistic mentor of a group of artists in the Kansai area. At Kenkadō's home, Bunchō met the painter Kushiro Unzen (1759–1811) and was introduced by him to nanga. He then continued on to Nagasaki, where he studied briefly with the Chinese painter Zhang Xin, who lived in Japan from 1781 to 1788.

After returning to Edo, by 1792, Bunchō earned distinction among his contemporaries for his familiarity with Western painting techniques. His knowledge of linear perspective was especially useful when he was in the service of the regent Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758–1829). In 1793, when invasion was being threatened from the West, Bunchō accompanied Sadanobu on an inspection tour of the Sagami and Izu coasts, south of Edo, to make sketches of the coastline for purposes of defense. He worked for Sadanobu again in 1800 as the illustrator of Sadanobu's catalogue of ancient objects, the Shūko jusshu.[2] A visit to Kyoto to study the city's collections of ancient art in 1796 may have provided Bunchō with the opportunity to see the "Li Tang" on which the present painting is based. (It was then attributed to Xia Gui, fl. ca. 1195–1230.)

Eclectic in his interests and enormously prolific, Bunchō was versed in Rinpa and yamato-e. He made portraits and Buddhist icons, and kept copious notes on his many commissions.[3] Bunchō was considered in his day to be one of the two greatest painters in Edo (the other was Kameda Bōsai; cat. no. 167). His reputation was such that "silks and gilded screens to be painted by Bunchō were piled mountain-high [in his studio].[4] He also had a large following, which included Sakai Hōitsu (cat. no. 133), before the latter switched his allegiance to Rinpa. Bunchō's sons assisted him in filling the never-ending orders for his work. Many women in Bunchō's family also painted—his wife, Kankan (1770–1799), his younger sisters Shūko and Kōran, and his daughters Shun'ei and Kitsukitsu. The unusual seal impressed on this scroll includes the name of the era, Bunsei, and the cyclical year, Boshi (Year of the Rat), which corresponds to 1828.

[Miyeko Murase 2000, Bridge of Dreams]

[1] The attribution to Li Tang is now discredited and the painting is dated to the thirteenth century. See Cahill 1996a, p. 194 and fig. 71.
[2] For their collaborations, see Fukushima Prefectural Museum 1992.
[3] Ueno Kenji 1976, pp. 37–78.
[4] In Ariya nashiya by Shimizu Seijun. See Mori Senzō 1980, p. 396.

Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation , New York (until 2015; donated to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," November 7, 1975–January 4, 1976.

Seattle Art Museum. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," March 10–May 1, 1977.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," June 1–July 17, 1977.

Tokyo National Museum. "Nihon bijutsu meihin ten: nyūyōku bāku korekushon," May 21, 1985–June 30, 1985.

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum. "Nihon bijutsu meihin ten: nyūyōku bāku korekushon," July 13, 1985–August 11, 1985.

Nagoya City Art Museum. "Nihon bijutsu meihin ten: nyūyōku bāku korekushon," August 17, 1985–September 23, 1985.

Atami. MOA Museum of Art. "Nihon bijutsu meihin ten: nyūyōku bāku korekushon," September 29, 1985–October 27, 1985.

Hamamatsu City Museum of Art. "Nihon bijutsu meihin ten: nyūyōku bāku korekushon," November 12, 1985–December 1, 1985.

New York. Asia Society. "Art of Japan: Selections from the Burke Collection, pts. I and II," October 2, 1986–February 22, 1987.

Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. "Die Kunst des Alten Japan: Meisterwerke aus der Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," September 16, 1990–November 18, 1990.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Japanese Art from The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 30–June 25, 2000.

Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," July 5, 2005–August 19, 2005.

Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," October 4, 2005–December 11, 2005.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," January 24, 2006–March 5, 2006.

Miho Museum. "Enduring Legacy of Japanese Art: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 15, 2006–June 11, 2006.

Tsuji Nobuo 辻惟雄, Mary Griggs Burke, Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha 日本経済新聞社, and Gifu-ken Bijutsukan 岐阜県美術館. Nyūyōku Bāku korekushon-ten: Nihon no bi sanzennen no kagayaki ニューヨーク・バーク・コレクション展 : 日本の美三千年の輝き(Enduring legacy of Japanese art: The Mary Griggs Burke collection). Exh. cat. [Tokyo]: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 2005, cat. no. 116.

Murase, Miyeko, Il Kim, Shi-yee Liu, Gratia Williams Nakahashi, Stephanie Wada, Soyoung Lee, and David Sensabaugh. Art Through a Lifetime: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection. Vol. 1, Japanese Paintings, Printed Works, Calligraphy. [New York]: Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, [2013], p. 292, cat. no. 373.