Fish and Coral

This painting offers an underwater view of a school of fish swimming among coral. A range of ink tones applied in layered washes and drips captures the rough surface of the coral and suggests three-dimensionality. This work demonstrates Araki’s great admiration for the paintings of Bada Shanren (1626–1705) and Bada’s twentieth-century admirers such as Qi Baishi and Araki’s own mentor Zhang Daqian (1899–1983). Araki had spent years studying and sketching the works of these Chinese masters, including their paintings of fish and other sea life.