Minneapolis Institute of Art

Landscape after the Four Wangs

Okada Hankō

Date

Winter 1840

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Okada Hankō’s monumental work is a tour de force in the spirit of the Four Wangs, a circle of conservative Chinese painters who created stylized interpretations of classic works. This painting follows orthodox principles of composition—the foreground, middle-ground, and background are distinct yet well-integrated—maintaining order in this otherwise fantastical, complex setting. The inscription reads: The water is gone from the stony river that has a disorderly look. The leaves are gone from the mountain that has a wonderful scene. The thoroughly wet old man on the bridge, where will he go? There is a western village where an unsettled game of Go is waiting for him. Tenth month, 1840 (translated by Masato Nishimura) Japan, Asia

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