Haboku sansui (破墨山水図,
Broken Ink Landscape) is a
splashed-ink landscape painting on a
hanging scroll. It was made by the Japanese artist
Sesshū Tōyō in 1495, in the
Muromachi period. Sesshū Tōyō was a
Zen Buddhist monk and painter. The work is a development of
suibokuga paintings made with
Chinese ink, using dark and light shades on a silk or paper medium. The monochromatic style can result in artworks similar to
calligraphy. In spite of its title, the work is not one of "broken ink" (
haboku) but rather one of "splashed ink" (hatsuboku). In this style, the painter avoids strongly defined outlines, with shapes indicated by colour washes in lighter and darker tones.
Credit: Sesshū Tōyō; photographed by Bamse