Description

On the right bank of a quiet bay, several houses with heavy thatched roofs crowd together on the slope, surrounded by dark ink-washed shrubbery. On the left, two sailboats lie moored with their masts raised and sails furled, their rigging suggested only as a fine web of lines.

Above, a wooded rocky spur pushes into the picture, from which individual pines grow at an angle. The entire background dissolves into mist, out of which only the soft silhouette of a mountain and the suggestion of further groups of trees emerge. The picture is kept consistently monochrome and works exclusively with gray tones. Only the furled sails and the roof ridges are drawn with a firm line and hold the composition together.

It is precisely this restraint that reveals the quality of the ink work: from the almost black, dryly applied needle drawing to the paper-thin wash of the mist banks, the entire range is exploited. Signature and red seal appear at the lower right, with another at the upper right. As a screen print on silk, this hanging scroll is an atmospheric, classic work.