Cherry [right of a pair of Cherry and Willow], first half 17th century
Hasegawa Schoolexpand_more
Color, gold paint, gold leaf, and moriage on paperexpand_more
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundationexpand_more 2015.79.255.2
Not on Viewexpand_more
The overhanging limbs of a willow with recently sprouted leaves, branches of a cherry tree in full bloom, and the top of a clump of flowering grasses are the only painted motifs in this pair of folding screens. There is much more to be uncovered, however, when we look closely. An invisible breeze moves in from the left, causing the willow branches to reach slightly to the right. The grasses and cherry branches in the right screen, too, are in movement, seemingly lifted up by a wind from below. The missing tree trunks and the hidden base of the clump of grass suggest that we, the viewers, see all of this from some high point, looking down through the branches toward the expanse of gold foil, interrupted only by ambiguous gold forms—created by building up shell-white pigment (gofun) on the paper surface and then covering it in gold—that also appear to move across the surface, as if driven by the wind. Are they clouds' Mist' Or do they represent the shimmering, rippling surface of some body of water far below'
Details
- Title
- Cherry [right of a pair of Cherry and Willow]
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2015.79.255.2
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murase, Art through a Lifetime, no. 545
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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