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Gallery Text

The angled trunk of a large pine tree bisects the foreground of this painting. Together, the closely cropped perspective, dynamic brushwork, and scale-like bark produce the sensation of being encircled by a living entity. The bluish ink of the background indicates a nighttime setting, and moonlight bathes the lower branches and needle tips. Pine paintings are associated with wishes for long life, making them appropriate gifts for a birthday or the new year. But the moon can also be a symbol of Buddhist enlightenment; here, its light adds a spiritual dimension to the tree’s embrace.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
TL42642.6
People
Itō Jakuchū 伊藤若冲, Japanese (Kyoto 1716 - 1800)
Title
Old Pine
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting, hanging scroll
Date
c. 1796
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/340449

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2600, East Asian Art, East Asian Painting and Decorative Arts
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
Dimensions
image only: 101.4 x 39.6 cm (39 15/16 x 15 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • signature: 米斗翁八十三歳画 [Painted by Beito’ō at age eighty-three]
  • seal: upper; square, intaglio: 藤汝鈞印 [Tō Jokin in]
  • seal: lower; round, relief
    : 若冲居士 [Layman Jakuchū]

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Promised gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg
Object Number
TL42642.6
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Ito jakuchu, anaza warudo, exh. cat. (Tokyo, Japan, 2010), illus. #166, p. 232
  • The Flowering of Edo Period Painting: Japanese Masterworks from the Feinberg Collection, exh. cat., Yomiuri Shinbunsha (Tokyo, 2013), p. 129, cat. 60
  • Yukio Lippit, "From Kisō to Kijin: Reconsidering Eccentricity in Edo Painting", Orientations, Orientations Magazine (Hong Kong, January/February 2020), vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 44-51, p. 47, fig. 4
  • Rachel Saunders and Yukio Lippit, Painting Edo: Selections from the Feinberg Collection of Japanese Art, exh. cat. (Cambridge, MA, 2020), pp. 67-68, figs. 56-57
  • Rachel Saunders, ed., Catalogue of the Feinberg Collection of Japanese Art, brochure, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, 2021), pp. 100-101, cat. 92

Exhibition History

  • Jakuchu - Another World, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Shizuoka, 04/10/2009 - 05/16/2009; Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, 05/22/2010 - 06/27/2010
  • The Flowering of Edo Period Painting: Japanese Masterworks from the Feinberg Collection, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 05/21/2013 - 07/15/2013; Miho Museum, 07/20/2013 - 08/18/2013; Tottori Prefectural Museum, 10/05/2013 - 11/10/2013
  • 32Q: 2600 East Asian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/08/2024 - 12/02/2024
  • Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/14/2020 - 06/06/2021

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu