Wisteria and Other Flowers

Maker(s)
Artist: Fuka'e Roshu (1699-1757)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 18th century
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 125.3 × 51.8 cm (49 5/16 × 20 3/8 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1958.12
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), flower, Japan, kakemono, wisteria, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance information is currently unavailable
Label

It is likely that this painting, now mounted as a hanging scroll, was once a panel in a pair of six-panel screens. Roshu, an artist whose father was an important official at the Kyoto mint, probably studied painting with Ogata Korin (1658-1716).

The assortment of flowering plants is placed in a visually successful composition that bears no relation to the natural world; plants from all seasons are shown blooming simultaneously. A fine example of early-eighteenth-century Rimpa mode, the plant and flower forms are defined by delicately modulated polychrome washes rather than by ink line. The desired impression of a soft, natural cornucopia is thus successfully achieved.

Published References
  • Zaigai hiho [(Japanese Paintings in Western Collections]. 3 vols., Tokyo. vol. 1, pt. 1, pl. 66.
  • Unknown title. no. 762 Tokyo. pl. 6.
  • Unknown title. no. 801 Tokyo, December 1958. pl. 5.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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