This scroll is a collaboration by three of the most important artists of their time, two of whom were master and student. The painting was created in three stages. Hoitsu, the master, first painted bamboo in the upper left; Kiitsu, his pupil, then added a blossoming plum branch at the bottom, leaving space for Bōsai to add a poem about these plants in energetic calligraphy. Because bamboo is evergreen and the plum tree blooms in winter at the time of the Lunar New Year, these motifs symbolize longevity and renewal in east Asian art. They also symbolize a Confucian principle of uprightness and perseverance. It is likely the painting was composed when the three friends were together celebrating the New Year. It is unusual for these three artists to work in ink; they are usually associated with boldly colored decorative screens.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
Details
Artist | Sakai Hoitsu, Japanese, 1761-1828 |
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Artist | Suzuki Kiitsu, Japanese, 1796-1858 |
Artist | Kameda Bosai, Japanese, 1752-1826 |
Title |
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Date | 19th century |
Medium | Ink on paper |
Dimensions | Overall: 71 1/4 × 13 inches (181 × 33 cm) Image: 39 inches × 10 3/4 inches (99.1 × 27.3 cm) Installed: 72 inches × 13 1/8 inches × 7/8 inches (182.9 × 33.3 × 2.2 cm) |
Credit Line | Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund |
Accession Number | 2013.43 |
Department | Asian Art |
Not On View |
Signed, Marks, Inscriptions
Marks | Stamps, in red, following each inscription: [three seals] |
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Inscriptions | Inscribed, along right Inscribed, at lower right corner Inscribed, at left |
Provenance
(Koichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts, New York, New York, USA);
2013-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
2013-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Published References
Emura, Tomoko. “Rinpa Artists and the Samurai Class.” Bulletin of the DIA 88, no. 1/4 (2014): p. 80 [ref. fig. 4 on p. 91].
Augustin, Birgitta. “Idealist Painting and the Samurai.” Bulletin of the DIA 88, no. 1/4 (2014): pp. 89, 91-92 (fig. 4).
Augustin, Birgitta. “Idealist Painting and the Samurai.” Bulletin of the DIA 88, no. 1/4 (2014): pp. 89, 91-92 (fig. 4).