Title: Pine Trees
Artist: Hasegawa Tohaku
Culture: Japan
Media: Ink on Paper
Dimensions: w345.1 x h155.1 cm
Repository: Tokyo National Museum
Description:
Hasegawa Tohaku’s Pine Trees was painted during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan. These two ink painting was done on a paper screen (only one shown) and portray a small cluster of pine trees emerging through a thick fog. Tohaku’s use of dark ink in the foreground and lighter ink in the background creates depth and evokes feelings of mystery and calmness in the viewer. Tohaku’s paintings span various media and genres, but during the time in his career when Pine Trees was painted, his work was heavily inspired by minimalism and Zen ideologies. While using limited materials, color palettes, and artistic subjects, Tohaku is able to create depth, convey a soft, delicate atmosphere, and evoke feelings of serenity in the viewer.
References:
Image Source: Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/pine-trees-hasegawa-touhaku/HgFQR4hgzPorXg?hl=en
Other Source(s): O’Shaughnessy, Kevin. Hasegawa Tohaku’s Pine Trees — Minimalism and Art in Warring States Japan. Mar. 8th, 2019. https://kevinoshaughnessy2017.medium.com/hasegawa-tohakus-pine-trees-minimalism-and-art-in-warring-states-japan-6763cd96baa7
