Landscape of the four seasons, one of a pair

Fog curls between soaring mountain peaks in this ink landscape by Shikibu Terutada, a Japanese painter who worked in the mid-1500s during the Muromachi period. Painted across a folding screen, the view moves gradually from one side to the other, guiding the eye past sharp ridges, small clustered villages, and water that dissolves into a hazy distance. This screen is only half of the story, since it was made as one of a pair. Placed beside its companion, the two together traced the shifting seasons across the year.

Terutada painted in a manner deeply shaped by Chinese ink art, which held enormous appeal for Japanese painters and Zen monks of the era. Rather than filling the scene with color, he leaned on black ink and the plain paper itself, allowing misty gaps to carry as much weight as the crisp brushwork. Tiny signs of life appear if you search for them, such as rooftops nestled among the slopes and little boats floating on the water, gentle hints that people made modest homes within these enormous surroundings.

Very little has come down to us about the artist, and his name shows up on only a handful of surviving pieces, so works like this one help scholars understand how he painted. Beyond their beauty, screens like this served a purpose in daily life, dividing rooms while bringing a sense of natural quiet inside.