Bamboo and Rock in Snow
Sakaki Hyakusen Japanese
Not on view
Bamboo, a symbol of enduring strength—able to bend in the wind without breaking and to withstand the onslaught of winter—was a favored painting theme among the literati in East Asia. Here, stems of bamboo, bowing under the weight of snow on their slender leaves, emerge from behind a mossy boulder. To represent the snow, Sakaki Hyakusen left areas of the paper unpainted, while his uneven application of gray wash evokes a dark, wintry evening. An assiduous student of the Chinese tradition through imported painting manuals, Sakaki is regarded as one of the pioneers of literati painting and an inspiration to many subsequent generations.
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