Landscape and calligraphy

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    early 19th century
  • Geography

    Japan
  • Material

    Ink and color on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W (image): 116.9 × 27.2 cm (46 × 10 11/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1992.30
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1992.30

Object Details

  • Artist

    Kameda Bosai 亀田鵬斎 (1752-1826)
  • Label

    This strikingly simple landscape reflects its painter-calligrapher's interest in Chinese paintings of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Kameda Bosai was a scholar specializing in Chinese Confucian studies who became famous for his painting, poetry, and calligraphy, arts that he practiced while traveling widely in Japan. Bosai's two-line Chinese inscription on this work is written in his distinctive cursive style.
    As morning comes, he tries to reach the fruit upon high branches,
    And unwittingly knocks down the nest of an immortal crane.
    Translation by Stephen Allee
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 2 (March 8 to October 19, 2008)
    Real and Imagined Places in Japanese Art (March 4 to October 21, 2001)
  • Origin

    Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Alice Yelen and Dr. Kurt Gitter
  • 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.

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