id: 146378 accession number: 1972.117 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.117 updated: 2022-01-04 16:44:46.693000 Famous Early Modern Calligraphers and Painters, late 1700s to mid-1800s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Two albums of painting and calligraphy; ink and light color on silk, or ink on paper; each album, closed: 31 x 21 cm (12 3/16 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom 1972.117 title: Famous Early Modern Calligraphers and Painters title in original language: 近世名家書画冊 series: series in original language: creation date: late 1700s to mid-1800s creation date earliest: 1798 creation date latest: 1868 current location: creditline: Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom copyright: --- culture: Japan, Edo period (1615-1868) technique: two albums of painting and calligraphy; ink and light color on silk, or ink on paper department: Japanese Art collection: ASIAN - Album leaf type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Each album, closed: 31 x 21 cm (12 3/16 x 8 1/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: 近世名家書画冊 translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Visions of Landscape: East and West opening date: 1982-02-17T05:00:00 Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). title: Scholar's Studio opening date: 1989-09-26T04:00:00 Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 26-December 31, 1989). title: Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection opening date: 1991-09-17T04:00:00 Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: The first of these two albums boxed together with an external title reading Famous Early Modern Calligraphers and Painters begins with a lengthy inscription in Chinese by the Japanese artist Rai Sanyō (1780–1832) dated to 1817, and concludes with another, undated, by Tanomura Chikuden (1777–1835). In between, there are undated poems in Chinese by other Japanese artists, Nukina Kaioku (1778–1863), Rai Shunpū (1753–1825), Rai Kyōhei (1756–1834), and Kan Sazan (1748–1827), as well as paintings by Okada Hankō (1782–1845), Totoki Baigai (1749-1804), Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776-1853), Uragami Shunkin (1779-1846), Watanabe Kazan (1793-1841), Tsubaki Chinzan (1801-1854), and Nukina Kaikoku. While most of the paintings are not dated, those that are indicate that the group was painted over a large span of time, rather than on a single occasion. Nakabayashi Chikutō’s Chinese hermit treads a waterfall-dominated landscape dated 1808, while Nukina Kaikoku’s solitary Chinese boatman beneath a flock of geese is from 1849. The paintings are landscapes or floral images and follow recognizable Chinese brush methods transmitted to Japan through a variety of methods including printed manuals. The plants have symbolic meanings, sometimes related to their names in Chinese, which may be homonyms for terms like success or achievement. They often recall human qualities or desires, such as hardiness or longevity. The second album begins with a painting of plum and bamboo by Tanomura Chikuden (1777–1835) dated to the first day of 1818. It ends with an undated scene of someone going to visit a friend by Okada Hankō (1782–1845). In between are nine compositions by a variety of artists. There are poems and inscriptions by Rai Sanyō (1780–1832) and Rai Shunsui (1746–1816). There are also paintings by Okada Beisanjin (1744–1820), Uragami Gyokudō (1745–1820), Nagamachi Chikuseki (1747–1806), Noro Kaiseki (1747–1828), Aoki Mokubei (1767–1833), and Nukina Kaikoku (1778–1863), who appends a poem to his composition. While most of the paintings are not dated, those that are indicate that like the first album, the group was painted over a large span of time, rather than on a single occasion. Nagamachi Chikuseki’s figure on a bridge hermit is dated to the 10th lunar month of 1789, while Nukina Kaikoku’s colorful island retreat is from 1833. Aside from the opening composition by Tonomura Chikuden, all the paintings are landscapes. The calligraphers and painters whose works are represented in the albums were all deeply interested in Chinese culture. They were especially attracted to the idea they found in Chinese society of a community of educated friends who shared works in prose, poetry, and painting among one another through correspondence or gatherings. The ideal was a group who were not professional artists, creating works for clients, but a group who produced works to nurture friendships and cultivate their own minds. The covers of the albums have title slips reading Album of Precious Works, and are signed Chikutei Fu or Kan (竹𠅘釡 or possibly a much abbreviated 鍳), with a round, red seal reading Chikutei. This is a pseudonym used most likely by a Japanese person interested in calligraphy composed in Chinese and paintings with Chinese styles and themes. The name evokes a pavilion set in a bamboo grove, an image strongly associated with China in Japan. It is also likely that this person assembled the works into the album. Pseudonyms of this type were and continue to be used by those engaged in cultural pursuits such as poetry composition, painting, and collecting art. Having such a name takes one out of the normal business of life, and transports one to a space of creativity and aesthetic appreciation. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Graham, Patricia J. "Lifestyles of Scholar-Painters in Edo Japan." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 7 (1990): 262-83. page number: Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 274-77 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161293 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.117/1972.117_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.117/1972.117_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.117/1972.117_full.tif