id:			79586
accession number:	2015.478
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.478
updated:		2023-05-23 11:06:50.318000

Gibbons Reaching for the Moon, 1600s. Kano Tan’yū (Japanese, 1602–1674). Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk; painting: 170 x 33.9 cm (66 15/16 x 13 3/8 in.); overall with knobs: 234 x 40.1 cm (92 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.478

title:				Gibbons Reaching for the Moon
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1600s
creation date earliest:		1602
creation date latest:		1674
current location:		
creditline:			Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
technique:	Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	ASIAN - Hanging scroll
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Kano Tan’yū (Japanese, 1602–1674)  - artist

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measurements: Painting: 170 x 33.9 cm (66 15/16 x 13 3/8 in.); Overall with knobs: 234 x 40.1 cm (92 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	signed: "Tan'yūsai hitsu"
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	George Gund III [1937–2013], bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–2015
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2015–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
Long-armed gibbons form a chain to reach down from a tree, hoping to touch what they believe is the moon. In fact, the orb remaining beyond their grasp is the full moon’s reflection in the still surface of a pond or lake. The image is a common metaphor for the deluded mind in Buddhist thought. Gibbons do not live in Japan but were known to Japanese painters of the premodern era through paintings brought from China.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.478/2015.478_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.478/2015.478_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.478/2015.478_full.tif