# Monkeys and trees on a river bank

**Sesson Shūkei** (ca. 1504–ca. 1589)  
1568-1615  
Ink on paper  
H x W (.218): 176.5 x 371.1 cm (69 1/2 x 146 1/8 in)

Courtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, F1903.218-219. [The museum's record](https://asia.si.edu/object/F1903.218-219/).

## About this work

Sesson Shūkei painted this in 1568-1615, aged about 64. It is now at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Ink on paper.** Ink made from soot and animal glue, ground with water on an inkstone. A single brush can give a hair-fine line or a broad wash, and nothing can be corrected.

### [Sesson Shūkei](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/sesson-shukei)

ca. 1504–ca. 1589

Sesson was a Zen monk who worked in the provinces of eastern Japan, far from the capital at Kyoto. He admired the ink painter Sesshū and developed a vigorous, highly personal style of monochrome ink painting, marked by windswept landscapes, swirling water and lively figures. His Dragon and Tiger screens show his taste for dramatic movement. He also wrote a short treatise on painting addressed to his pupils.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Japanese
- The artist was about 64
- Real size: about 69 × 146 in (177 × 371 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Water, Landscapes, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), Animals, Monkeys, Rivers
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1769.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1769/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/monkeys-and-trees-on-a-river-bank-si-fsg-f1903-218-219).