Two bold cursive characters fill a horizontal hanging scroll

Two large characters in thick, sweeping cursive brushwork dominate this horizontal hanging scroll, the ink varying from solid black strokes to dry, feathered edges. A two-character signature in smaller, looser cursive script runs vertically at the left, beside two square red seals stamped one above the other. A third, taller red seal sits near the upper right edge of the tan paper. The work is dated to the late 17th–early 18th century.

The original: a hanging scroll, ink on paper, Japan, late 17th–early 18th century, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis.

Kō Gentai (1649–1722) was a Japanese calligrapher, the son of a Chinese administrator who left Japan after his birth. He worked as an interpreter, then studied medicine and served the shogun in Edo from 1709 to 1721. He was known for his cursive script, and in Window Snow he built the character for window from straight, rectangular strokes and wrote snow fluidly in four strokes instead of the usual eleven. His work is held by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.