Chestnuts

Nakabayashi Chikuto_ was a leading painter and theorist within a circle of mid-19th century Japanese scholars who were intensely interested in Chinese literati ideals. Chikuto_ specialized in Chinese-style landscape painting, but he also produced a number of works that were probably inspired by the careful approach of the Chinese master Yun Shou-ping (1633-1690). Although Yun himself did not leave China, his style became known in Japan through the works of other artists as well as by the importation of paintings in his technique. Like Yun, Chikuto_'s brushwork was refined, and his colors are subtle rather than brilliant. He also used Yun's boneless technique of applying ink or pigment directly to the silk without constricting outlines.