Favorite Work of Art - Well, maybe this one

Hasegawa Touhaku (1539 - 1610): Pine Trees 日本語: 松林図屏風 (16th century, Azuchi-Momoyama-period), Tokyo National Museum, image via Google Art Project

 Can you tell what is your favorite work of art? If you know some major works of art or are deeper into it, you certainly get some ideas what it might be. I've had many proper candidates over the years, however after decades of collecting art digitally and studying art history in university, the very task of naming one certain work has gone nearly impossible. 

What is then a good work of art? This is of course, a subjective matter and we concept any kind of artwork differently, Besides no one held the right interpretation of artwork, including the very artist. For me it the feeling it summons from my consciousness or rather from subconsciousness. European art can be very arousing with its richness of detail, symbolism and vibrancy. Sometimes it can be too much and its symbolism includes elements that you have to decode with some expertise and knowledge. Don't understand me wrong, I like European art with all its splendor. But do we really need to use our brain all the time when we are looking an artwork?

I think not, and that is why my ultimate best candidate for best artwork ever is not European. At 16th century, when western artists were producing renaissance / manneristic art with all splendor, Japanese art gave us more simplified images, one could say it was less-is-more. With  few lines of ink the artist makes trees, ponds, few birds or a flower. The rest of the artwork comes within you.

If you live on forest rich region of this planet, like me, you can easily imagine it, or maybe you have lived that moment. You are standing on the edge of the forest, white mist covers nearly all. Suddenly a light gust of wind reveals a cluster of pines, you could almost hear that wind, maybe you could hear some droplets fall from pines. Hasegawa Touhaku painted these framed paper screens with one-colored ink, giving us familiar feeling from nature, way before Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840) and nature loving paintings of romantic-era. Touhaku's work lets our own imagination make the rest, fill that vast creamy void between those trees. It gives us a moment of rest. And that is why I consider it as one of the best artworks ever made. And you know what? I have never actually seen it.

Hasegawa: Pine trees, Commons

Hasegawa Touhaki, Wikipedia