Geese Over a Beach

Maruyama Okyo 円山応挙 (1733-1795) · 18th century

In Japanese and Chinese painting and poetry, geese represent autumn. Their annual migrations also symbolize an unsettled existence. This painting was formerly mounted on four sliding doors set in tracks between two rooms. This portrayal of two geese flying out to sea shows a dramatic and expansive realism that comes from the artist's familiarity with techniques that included some methods of depicting perspective and volume, which Okyo learned from studying European art.