Landscape with peninsula | Terazaki Kōgyō 寺崎廣業 | 1866-1919

Terazaki Kōgyō comes from Akita in northern Japan. He was one of the most progressive painters of his time. Because he was very talented, he was accepted into the circle around Okakura Tenshin, who, together with the American Ernest Fenellosa, conceived the theoretical and aesthetic basis for painting of the Meiji period (1868-1912). When the illustrious aesthete circle dissolved, Terazaki went his own way. In some pictures he strongly integrated Western representational traditions. But since he had also studied Chinese painting intensively, he was able to change the accents from picture to picture.

This landscape is basically in the style of traditional Japanese ink painting. What distinguishes the image from older landscape paintings with this motif is the popular use of very thin, watery ink in the Meji period, which gives the appearance of moving freely. This water effect is used to evoke an illusion of haze, which the Japanese have long been fond of. Terazaki is a master at using this technique, as you can clearly see in the foliage of the group of trees. But he also uses very thin ink for the evening sky. The round cut-out area becomes a pale full moon, which emerges from the misty clouds, barely perceptible but very poetic.