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Waterfall Between Mist and Branches

Kakemono, unique work, 120 x 60 cm
Product number: 3464

Sold – no longer available

This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.

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Details about the sold piece

  • Height 120 cm
  • Width 60 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Paper
  • Period of Creation Meiji (1868–1912)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
Sold

No longer available

Description

A narrow waterfall plunges from dense branches dissolved in ink, surrounded by loosely placed wisps of mist and scattered splashes of color that make the movement of the water almost audible. The highly reduced, nearly abstract visual language creates a powerful, immediate effect that stands out clearly from more detailed landscape depictions.

Waterfalls are among the classic motifs in Japanese painting, used to express power, purity, and the unstoppable dynamism of nature. The spontaneous brushwork, reminiscent of sumi-e, suggests a painter who worked with a few deliberate strokes and gradations of ink rather than rendering every detail.

The painting dates from the Meiji period, was executed by hand on paper, and is fitted with wooden jikusaki. The textile mounting shows clear signs of wear and slight damage, while the painting itself is well preserved. As a unique work with noticeable age patina, this kakemono is especially suited to admirers of expressive, free ink painting.

Frequently asked

No – as a one-of-a-kind piece it exists in a single example only.
We would be glad to look for one. Get in touch with the details of the object you are looking for and we will see what we can do.
Because the two pieces of information speak about different things: the period designation describes the object – support, colors, condition – while the signature reflects which name appears on the painting. In most cases there is no attempt at deception behind this, but rather Japanese painting training: copying from workshop models was the curriculum for centuries, an utsushi is regarded as a bow to the teacher, workshops signed with the master's name, and artist names were passed down within a school. Such a hanging scroll is therefore not a forgery, but a hand-painted one-of-a-kind that continues the formal language of its school – just not the work of the famous name, and priced accordingly. We explain this in detail in the guide Why does a kakemono often bear the signature of an artist long deceased?.