1964.160: Hibiscus Flowers and Wild Pinks

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1964.160

People

Kitagawa Sōsetsu 喜多川相説, Japanese (Kanazawa? active c. latter half 17th century–early 18th century)

Title

Hibiscus Flowers and Wild Pinks

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

hanging scroll, painting

Date

Early Edo period, mid 17th century

Places

Creation Place: East Asia, Japan

Period

Edo period, 1615-1868

Culture

Japanese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/202537

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Dimensions

painting proper: H. 104.5 x W. 40.3 cm (41 1/8 x 15 7/8 in.)
mounting, including cord and roller ends: H. 188 x W. 55.2 cm (74 x 21 3/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Anonymous Fund

Accession Year

1964

Object Number

1964.160

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This painting depicts two seasonal flowers in an abstract and yet naturalistic composition; upright floral silhouettes rise gracefully from shadowy or imperceptible roots in a strikingly decorative design devoid of any visible ground plane. Individual plant forms are defined using a technique known as tarashikomi, in which black ink and/or mineral pigments have been splashed onto areas of still-moist ink wash, resulting in evocative pools of saturation. The evolution of such seemingly effortless and yet technically difficult decorative imagery also found expression in many other media during the Edo period (1615-1868), so that divisions between the various arts--such as painting, lacquerware, and metalwork--began to blur. Tarashikomi is one of the hallmarks of so-called Rimpa-style paintings--works done in emulation of Tawaraya Sōtatsu (died c. 1643), who is credited with having consciously evoked and updated the rich, allusive imagery of Japan's Heian-period (794-1185) past. The artist to whom this painting is attributed, Kitagawa Sōsetsu, appears to have been an accomplished and faithful mid-seventeenth-century follower in the direct line of Sōtatsu; however, many questions remain regarding Sōsetsu's identity and oeuvre. This work is likely one of a set of paintings depicting either the Flowers of the Twelve Months or the Flowers of the Four Seasons.

Exhibition History

• Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/06/2002 - 01/05/2003
• Cultivating Virtue: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/08/2006 - 04/08/2007

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