Exhibitions

• National Treasure

Irises
By Ogata Kōrin

• Ink and color on gold-foiled paper
• Japan Edo period, 18th century
• Nezu Museum

Against the gold ground that covers the entire surface, clusters of irises stand out vividly with their varied azurite blue tones and malachite green. Based on Kōrin’s calculated approach that highlights the contrast and balance between the right and left screens, the irises are arranged in a powerfully rhythmic order. Equally noteworthy is the plump modeling of the petals. Created about a decade after Kōrin began painting in earnest, this pair of folding screens represents the first artistic peak of the painter.

Irises
By Watanabe Shikō

• Ink and color on gold-foiled paper
• Japan Edo period, 18th century
• Cleveland Museum of Art

The subject of irises alone against a full gold ground clearly derives from Kōrin. Nevertheless, Shikō’s effort to articulate the forms of each individual blossom showcases both his skills in painting from life and his background serving the learned courtier Konoe Iehiro. The omission of the lower portions of the plants suggests the presence of mist. Such evocation of the humid atmosphere and expansive spatial ambiance of early summer watersides against a decorative gold surface is strikingly innovative.

• Important Art Object

Magnolia and Palm Tree
By Watanabe Shikō

• Ink and color on paper
• Japan Edo period, 18th century
• Agency for Cultural Affairs

The right hanging scroll from this diptych depicts a white magnolia tree alongside camellias and a hinoki cypress, while the left shows a palm tree with yellow blossoms and a paulownia tree. Executed primarily in medium-light ink with extensive use of the tarashikomi (puddling) technique, these paintings are enlivened with blossoms in white, red, yellow, and blue. The flowering palm motif also appears in Konoe Iehiro’s True Depictions of Flowers and Trees (J: Kaboku shinsha), which indicates Shikō’s close relationship with Iehiro. This diptych originally belonged to the Konoe family. Also noteworthy is that the visual weight is placed high in the overall composition, but at slightly different levels in the left and right scrolls.

Ivy Lane
By Fukae Roshū

• Ink and color on gold-foiled paper
• Japan Edo period, 18th century
• Cleveland Museum of Art

This painting illustrates the ninth episode of The Tales of Ise, in which a man traveling eastward over Mount Utsu encounters an itinerant monk whom he had once known. He then entrusts the monk with a poem intended for a lover he left behind in the capital. The scene of the man seeing off the monk follows the precedents seen in works by Kōrin and Tawaraya Sōtatsu. In particular, the composition of broad color planes forming the mountains against a gold ground indicates the painter’s deep understanding of Sōtatsu’s style. Among the three extant works of the same subject by Fukae Roshū, this painting appears to be the earliest.