Corn and Pampas Grass Fan
Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and Follower
Japanese, Edo period
Hanging scrolls; color on gold and silver paper
Founders Society Purchase, Stoddard Fund for asian, Acquisitions Fund
78.66

Korin was the foremost decorative painter of the Edo period and his art is credited with bridging the worlds of the old aristocratic imperial city of Kyoto and the Tokugawa shogunate's brash new bourgeois military capital at Edo (now Tokyo). Born the son of a wealthy Kyoto textile merchant, Korin led a privileged life and only turned to painting for a livelihood when the family fortune was exhausted. A world of easy grace is reflected in the elegant, sophisticated paintings of sunlit corn and moonlit pampas grass on this fan. A talent for pattern and composition coalesced in Korin's personal style, which is noted for forceful abstract design and the keen observation of nature that is so evident here.