The Chinese emperor Ming Huang and Yang Kuei-fei

Object Details

• Artist

  Kano school

• Label

  From the eighth century onward, Chinese poetry, painting, and calligraphy were highly esteemed in Japan. Certain Chinese subjects, familiar to Japan's cultural leaders through literary sources, enjoyed great popularity during the early seventeenth century. Chinese poetry of the Tang dynasty (618-907), especially by Bo Juyi (772-846), had been highly appreciated in the Heian period (794-1185) and was nearly as familiar to literate Japanese as was the historic poetry of Japan.

  The long poem known as the Song of Everlasting Sorrow recounts the story of Emperor Ming Huang (reigned 712-756), whose excessive love for his beautiful concubine, Yang Guifei (circa 720-756), cast his empire into disorder and brought about her death in the An Lushan uprising of 756. This tragic story of passionate love and grief was illustrated in many Japanese screen paintings during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In this composition, flowers bloom profusely as the emperor and Yang Guifei meet in the palace garden.

  The artist of this painting is unknown, but the style reflects the characteristics of the Kano school. Kano painters, who traced their lineage back to the fifteenth century, initially specialized in the subjects and styles of Chinese painting favored in that period by elite patrons such as the shoguns of the Ashikaga line.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, pg. 17, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)

  Japanese Art in the Age of Koetsu (June 6, 1998 to February 15, 1999)

  Japanese Screens (February 11, 1983 to July 19, 1988)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

  Japanese Screen Paintings (March 10, 1961 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens, 1957 (March 20, 1957 to March 30, 1960)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 5 (February 25, 1956 to March 15, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens (October 3, 1947 to November 10, 1955)

  Japanese Screens, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to April 5, 1933)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1600s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Playing, Drums (Membranophones), Ukiyo-e, Flowers, Sheng, Kings and rulers, Flute, Charles Lang Freer collection, Concubine, Music, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings