Sesshu Tōyō

views updated May 23 2018

Sesshu Tōyō (1420–1506). A major Japanese Zen painter, considered by many the greatest master. He entered a Zen monastery when 12 and was trained at Shōkokuji in Kyōto. The control of his brush and line are a perfect expression of Zen control. ‘The Four Seasons’ is usually singled out as his masterpiece, but ‘Landscape in the Broken Ink Style’ (ibid. 129) is an equally superb achievement.