EXPLORE / MAKING
Ink painting
Brush, ink and an absorbent surface make a remarkably expressive combination. In Chinese painting, brushwork has a close relationship with calligraphy.
THE TOOLKIT
Brush · ink · inkstone · paper or silk
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Follow changes in the density of ink and the rhythm of the brush. Where does the unpainted surface become part of the composition?
READ FURTHERMuseum learning resource ↗
A simplified process; practices vary across places and periods.
From material to image.
- 01
Prepare the ink
- 02
Load the brush
- 03
Vary pressure and speed
- 04
Build lines and washes
Find it in the collection
↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · late 1790s
Cherry Blossoms in the Wind
Utagawa Toyokuni
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · after 1490
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Shen Zhou
↗China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911) · 1642–1707
Reminiscences of Qinhuai River
Shitao
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1548
Playing the Qin in a Secluded Valley
Wen Zhengming
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1506
Mount Hua
Tang Yin
↗Iran, Tabriz, Ilkhanid period (1256-1353) · 1330–35
Bahram Gur Arrives at the House of a Merchant, text page (recto), from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025), known as the Great Mongol Shahnama
Creator not recorded
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · after 1490
Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Shen Zhou
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1500
Flowering Crab Apple
Shen Zhou
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1551
Old Trees by a Wintry Brook
Wen Zhengming
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · late 1530s
Old Pine Tree
Wen Zhengming
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · late 1400s–early 1500s
Listening to the Qin
Attributed to Tang Yin
↗China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) · 1500–1510
Scholar-Hermits in the Autumn Mountains
Tang Yin
↗China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) · 1662
Rocks, Orchid, and Bamboo
Shitao
↗China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) · 1697
Spring Mist over Jiangnan
Shitao
↗China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) · late 1100s–early 1200s
Drinking in the Moonlight
Attributed to Ma Yuan
↗China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) · 1127–1279
Watching the Deer by a Pine Shaded Stream
Ma Yuan
↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · c. 1793–97
Hinazura of Chōjiya from the series Beauties as the Seven Komachi
Utagawa Toyokuni
↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · late 1700s–early 1800s
Viewing Cherry Blossoms at Gotenyama
Utagawa Toyokuni
↗Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) · 1235
Arhat
Creator not recorded
↗Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) · early 1500s
Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist
Creator not recorded
↗Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) · late 1800s
Seven Jeweled Mountain
Creator not recorded
↗Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) · late 1700s or early 1800s
Landscape with Streams and Mountains
Creator not recorded
↗Netherlands · c. 1640–45
Tobias Healing His Father's Blindness
Rembrandt van Rijn
↗France, 19th century · c. 1881
The Mender
Camille Pissarro
↗Italy, Venice · c. 1580
Various Sketches of the Madonna and Child (recto)
Paolo Veronese
↗Japan, Heian period (794–1185) · late 1100s
Repository for the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and Eleven Volumes of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Creator not recorded
↗Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) · c. 1590
Mughal ruler Humayun defeating the Afghans before reconquering India, folio from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian, 1551–1602)
Creator not recorded
↗Nepal · 1000s-1100s
Seven Leaves from a Manuscript of the Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Creator not recorded
↗Iran, Tabriz, Ilkhanid period (1256-1353) · 1330–35
Bahram Gur Arrives at the House of a Merchant, text page (recto); Bahram Gur Slays a Dragon (verso), from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025), known as the Great Mongol Shahnama
Creator not recorded
↗Iran, Tabriz, Ilkhanid period (1256-1353) · 1330–35
Persian Verses: The Fortieth Year of King Kisra Nushirwan's Reign and the Story of Buzurgmihr (recto); Portrait of Nushirwan the Just (verso) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)
Creator not recorded
↗Ottoman Turkey, Istanbul · mid-1500s
Dragon in foliage with lion and phoenix heads
Attributed to Sahkulu
↗China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) · 1300s
Bamboo in the Wind
Puming
↗China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) · c. 1302–3
River Village: Fisherman's Joy
Zhao Mengfu
↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · c. 1700
Plum Tree
Ogata Kōrin
↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · c. 1715–30 or after
Chrysanthemums by a Stream
Possibly by Ogata Kōrin
↗Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) · c. 1575; border added probably 1700s
A Mughal courtier
Creator not recorded
↗Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Amber or Southwestern India, Deccan · 1650–80
Maru Ragini, from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)
Creator not recorded
↗Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat · c. 1890
English Babu (Native Indian Clerk) Holding a Hookah
Creator not recorded