Landscape: Red Cliff

Object Details

• Artist

  Ike Taiga 池大雅 (1723-1776)

• Label

  Ike Taiga, a native of Kyoto, studied Japanese painting before turning toward Chinese subjects and styles. Here, Taiga presents original interpretations of landscapes described by Chinese poets. At right, is the Yueyang tower, located on the Yangtzi River near Lake Dongting. The steep angle of Taiga’s vantage point heightens the viewer’s perception of the great river. At left, the subject is the “Red Cliff,” a site immortalized in poems composed in 1082 by the Song dynasty poet, Su Shi (Su Dongpo, 1037–1101). In Taiga’s painting, a boat passes swiftly below the steep cliff, reflecting the imagery of the poem: "We let our boat float along, sailing over the vast expanse, fascinated by the sensation that we were riding on air…Light and airy, it seemed that we had forsaken the world, and were flying unfettered through the air

  like Immortals."

  These paintings were once in the collection of Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972), the first Japanese recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature.

  (Translation by Cyril Drummond Le Gros Clark, The Prose Poetry of Su Tung-p’o, 1935.)

• Provenance

  To ?

  Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972). [1]

  To 1964

  Hollis and Mayuyama, Inc., New York. [2]

  From 1964

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hollis and Mayuyama, Inc., New York. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial remark 2 in the object record. See also copy of invoice from Oct 9, 1964 in the object folder.

  [2] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

  [3] See note 2.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Landscapes in Japanese Art (February 2 to July 15, 2007)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to August 1, 1994)

  Japanese Nanga School Painting (November 7, 1985 to March 9, 1987)

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

  Bicentennial Exhibition: Japanese Art (December 15, 1975 to November 10, 1976)

  Japanese Art: Recent Accessions (June 27, 1972 to May 2, 1973)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yasunari Kawabata 川端 康成 (1899-1972)

  Hollis and Mayuyama, Inc.

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

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

• Name

  Kawabata, Yasunari, Hollis and Mayuyama, Inc.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Landscapes, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings