A Closer Look: Episode 15 - Tawaraya Sotatsu's Matsushima screens, with Dr Kathleen Olive

In this episode of A Closer Look, Dr Kathleen Olive chats with Dr Nick Gordon about Tawaraya Sotatsu's sublime "Matsushima" screens. Now in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art (Washington DC), these two large folding screens probably don't represent the iconic pine-clad islands of Matsushima Bay in the Tohoku region, but they represent a true achievement of seventeenth-century Japanese painting.
For many years, little was known about Tawaraya Sotatsu's contribution to the emerging Rinpa school of luxurious, luscious art. But close examination of these screens shows how his use of gold, silver, pooling ink and fine calligraphic technique beautifully evoke a roiling and symbolic marine landscape.
We highly recommend that you visit the Smithsonian's visual essay for Google Art & Culture, in order to see the glorious detail of these screens: artsandculture....