Chinese palace landscape

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At A Glance

Period

ca. 1883
Geography

Japan
Material

Ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimension

H x W (image): 173.5 x 85.1 cm (68 5/16 x 33 1/2 in)
Accession Number

F1904.411
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1904.411

Object Details

Artist

Kimura Ritsugaku (1827-1890)
Label

The Japanese artist Kimura Ritsugaku studied with professional artists of the Kano school who were known for their mastery of Chinese painting techniques and subjects. Here he employs refined brushwork and delicately graded color to render an idealized image of a Chinese palace. Ritsugaku's paintings won praise both in Japan, where he was ranked with Kano Hogai (1828–88)as one of the nation's leading painters. He produced works for the shogun's palace and then after the Meiji Restoration for the imperial palace and governmental buildings; in 1875, his painting of a Chinese palace won first place at the Paris International Exposition.

Charles Lang Freer purchased this painting in 1904 from Ernest F. Fenellosa (1853-1908), an American professor who had become an influential advocate for Japanese art in Japan and later in the Oriental department of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Fenellosa wrote to Freer in 1902, "The Chinese Palace . . . was painted for me in 1883, I think, by a fellow pupil with Hogai and Gaho, named Kimura . . . . ," adding that the painting was a favorite of Mrs. Fenellosa, who had hung it in her parlor in Tokyo.
Provenance

To 1904

Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853-1908), New York, NY, and Spring Hill, AL, to 1904 [1]

From 1904 to 1919

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Ernest Francisco Fenollosa in 1904 [2]

From 1920

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

Notes:

[1] See Reserved Kakemono List, R. 362, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Purchase List.

[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

Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan (November 11, 2008 to November 11, 2009)

Japanese Art of the Meiji Era (September 20, 1997 to April 26, 1998)
Previous custodian or owner

Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853-1908) (C.L. Freer source)

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Origin

Japan
Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Type

Painting
Restrictions and Rights

Usage Conditions Apply

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