Monkeys by a Stream

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

The two monkeys in this painting are Japanese macaques. The one in front dangles its left leg over a sharply angled rock, surveying the land beyond a fast-moving mountain stream. A smaller monkey sits behind it, looking directly ahead as if it realizes it is being watched. The artist used just a few highly contrasting warm and cool colors, sweeping brushstrokes over ink washes, and loose lines to create a scene that powerfully evokes the mentally engaged state of the two animals. Monkeys, which are found throughout the mountainous and wooded areas of Japan, became a favorite subject of many later Japanese artists.