1840

Landscape with Mount Fuji

Japanese, 1763 - 1840

The leading painter of his day in Edo (modern Tokyo), Tani Buncho completed his three-volume Meizan zufu (Illustrations of Japan’s Famous Mountains) in 1804. Mount Fuji would have been the most familiar and revered mountain among the many he visited. Seen here in dark outline against the gray sky among dark storm clouds below, Fuji is the serene, eternal mountain. In contrast, the wind-tossed sailboat heading for a craggy shore is done in quick, dry brushstrokes, all energy and movement. This perfect harmony of disparate elements and techniques was achieved by Buncho in his last year, as revealed by his seal, “Nanaju-hachi-o” (“seventy-eight-year-old man”).