Moon and Autumn Plants

Maker(s)
Artist: Sakai Hōitsu 酒井抱一 (1761-1828)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, early 19th century
Medium
Ink and color on silk
Dimensions
H x W (image): 142 × 50 cm (55 15/16 × 19 11/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1904.126
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

Keywords
autumn, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, kakemono, moon
Provenance

To 1904
Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1904 [1]

From 1904 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michael Tomkinson in 1904 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 418, pg. 110, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Michael Tomkinson (C.L. Freer source) 1841-1921
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Flowering plants and autumn grasses posed against the backdrop of a hazy autumn moon was a popular subject for Hoitsu; close variations are found both as individual paintings and as elements of larger ensembles representing the birds and flowers of the twelve months.

Hoitsu's observation of nature approaches the accuracy of botanical drawing while retaining an idealised, gossamer delicacy. The artist achieves this balance by defining forms through carefully controlled, multilayered pigment washes rather than by defining shapes through ink outline.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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