MOUNTAINS OF THE HEART

Born in Edo present day Tokyo in 1752, Bosai was not just a painter poet but also a calligrapher and Confucian scholar and his 'Mountains of the Heart' is widely acknowledged as one of the finest Japanese woodblock books. Scenes include Smoke at the Beach, Poetic Ideas in the Summer Mountains and Pines Chant in a Thousand Valleys. Poet, free spirit and renowned master of ehon (art-book) tradition, the book explores Japan's landscape through the eyes of a renowned artist, and provides new perspectives on a rare painting collection. Ehon recorded Japanese life, culture and geography for hundreds of years, depicting homes lost in the mists of immense foothills, or small figures wandering through rolling valleys, houses and trees, waterfalls and willows. Bosai's collection elegantly portrays the relationship between man and his environment, inspiring reverence for nature's quiet power imbued with a sense of the bucolic tranquillity that the artist so lovingly immortalised with his rich and spontaneous style. His love of life is apparent in every beautiful brush stroke, faithfully reproduced in facsimile in this invaluable study of a landmark masterpiece. A glamorous 117 page George Braziller publication with 22 colour spreads and 22 black and white illustrations, 19.6 x 26.7cm.