A bird has come down to rest on a withered lotus leaf. The bird appears in negative space as if it is the spirit of the bird, not a real one. You take a moment and unwind a little. You notice that the work creates its own universe, inviting you to join in. Instead of you are standing in front of the painting and trying to figure out what is going on on the painting, how about you stepping into the painting with your eye and mind and senses. Leave you well-tuned, well-toned brain outside for a while.

About the Artist:

Maruyama Okyo was the son of a farmer in the Tamba Province of Japan, what is now the part of the Kyoto Prefecture. During his youth, he spent several years in a monastery studying its collection of ancient Chinese and Japanese paintings. Okyo founded the Maruyama School of painting, which was characterized by a close and accurate observation of nature. Okyo’s sketches, drawn directly from nature, possess a naïve freshness of detail and display a definitive curiosity about exploring surfaces and textures. The innovations in his work and painting philosophy mark him as one of the most influential painters of the 18th century.