If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Urban landscapes such as this street on a hot summer’s day were not neglected by ukiyo-e art. Western aesthetics had enormous impact on Japanese art in the 1800s. Kuniyoshi’s adaptation of Western linear perspective emphasizes the people, hilltop, and receding distance.
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A leading painter and intellectual in Edo of the early nineteenth century. Born into a high-ranking samurai family, he was in direct service to Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758–1829), the Councilor of State for the Tokugawa Shogunate who enacted numerous government reforms. As a painter, Bunchô studied and became competent at almost every style then practiced in Japan.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Like his contemporary Yamamoto Baiitsu, Chikutô was a native of Nagoya and a protegé of Kamiya Ten'yü, a wealthy collector of Chinese paintings. Both men went to Kyoto in 1803 to further their painting studies. They were active in the circle of the Sinophile scholar Rai San'yô, and worked occasionally with other literati artists, including Uragami Shunkin. Chikutô's work shows a much deeper knowledge of Chinese literati painting of the Ming and Qing periods, and he wrote several treatises on painting. He issued woodblock print books of his work in 1800 and 1815, both times under the title, Chikutô gafu.
A family of birds rest among willow branches. Three chicks rest below, while the larger parents perch above
Subject Matter
Chikutô has here captured the sense of refreshment and anticipation of early summer. He has rendered the willow and bamboo with a delicate touch, conveying the suppleness of early season foliage. Bamboo and rock had long been favored by Chinese and Japanese literati painters for their association with the Confucian ideal of resilience in the face of hardship. Chikutô has updated this traditional theme and given it greater emotional appeal by the addition of a family of birds nesting among the branches. The father appears alert for possible predators, while the mother gazes protectively upon her brood of timid chicks.
Label Copy
Chikutô has here captured the sense of refreshment and anticipation of early summer. He has rendered the willow and bamboo with a delicate touch, conveying the suppleness of early season foliage. Bamboo and rock had long been favored by Chinese and Japanese literati painters for their association with the Confucian ideal of resilience in the face of hardship. Chikutô has updated this traditional theme and given it greater emotional appeal by the addition of a family of birds nesting among the branches. The father appears alert for possible predators, while the mother gazes protectively upon her brood of timid chicks.
Nakabayashi Chikutô is regarded as one of the leading masters of the “third generation” of literati artists in Japan—a generation that had direct access to imported Chinese paintings. Chikutô is best known for his faithful interpretations of Chinese painting styles. He was also a prolific author of painting treatises.
Maribeth Graybill
“Four Seasons In Japanese Art”: Special Installation of Japanese Gallery at UMMA: Object Labels
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
This landscape painting shows rounded green mountains receding into the distance and soft sunlight streaming through billowy white clouds. In the foreground, painted in tones of dark brown and green, there is a rocky formation and a small waterfall formed by a stream passing over the rocks. One tall tree with lush greenery stands on the far left and a smaller tree frames the scene on the right. In the central part of the painting there is a stone house and pond. A few figures are scattered in this grassy area and someone stands in the open doorway of the house. The background shows a wide valley extending into the distance. Spots of sunlight highlight areas of the landscape such as the waterfall, the house, tree formations and the hillside above the house.
Subject Matter
Thomas Doughty was a well-known American landscape painter during the first half of the 19th century. This scene is an example of his evocative approach to landscape painting. Rather than showing a specific location, he constructed a scene of domestic tranquility within the natural beauty of the American wilderness. However, the cultivated land, with house, pond and human figures, is seen through the dark and wild vegetation of the forest surrounding it. Trees frame the composition on each side and lead the viewer's eye into the painting.
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This scroll features a single profile of a horse. The artist’s inscription states that the painting is modeled after Jin Nong’s (1687–1764) famous work entitled Ferghana Horse. Ferghana was the name of an ancient Central Asian kingdom known for its exceptional horses.
Subject Matter
Although he died at the youthful age of thirty-four, Ren Xiong was a true intellectual who was adept at many types of art. While Ren Xiong based this work on Jin Nong’s famous painting, his portrayal of the horse differs, possessing a delightfully whimsical and humorous expression.
Label Copy
Inscription: Ferghana Horse, after a painting by Dongxin Laoren (Jin Nong)
Seal of the artist
Although he died at the youthful age of thirty-four, Ren Xiong was a true intellectual who was adept at many types of art. This scroll features a single profile of a horse. The artist’s inscription states that the painting is modeled after Jin Nong’s (1687–1764) famous work entitled Ferghana Horse. Ferghana was the name of an ancient Central Asian kingdom known for its exceptional horses. Although Ren Xiong based this work on Jin Nong’s famous painting, his portrayal of the horse differs, possessing a delightfully whimsical and humorous expression.
(Gallery Rotation Fall 2011)
Gallery Rotation Fall 2011
Ren Xiong
China, 1820–1857
Ferghana Horse, after Jin Nong
Qing Period (1644–1912)
ca. 1840–57
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund, 1985/2.32
Although he died at the youthful age of thirty-four, Ren Xiong was a true Chinese literati, or artist-intellectual, adept at many visual arts. The inscription on this scroll featuring a single horse in profile states that it is modeled on a famous historic painting by Jin Nong (1687–1764) depicting a Ferghana horse (Ferghana was the name of an ancient Central Asian kingdom known for its exceptional horses). Here Ren Xiong is observing the traditional literati practice of copying works by earlier masters, but rather than closely adhering to the style of the painting to which he is paying homage, he reinterprets it in his own manner. Ren Xiong’s portrayal of the horse differs particularly in its delightfully whimsical and humorous expression.
Inscription
Inscription of artist: I painted in imitation of Chin Nung's horse painting. Wei-ch'ang Jen Hsiung. (Yü fang Tung-hsin lao-jen hua Tung-ku-li-kuo ma yeh, Wei-ch'ang Jen Hsiung.) Artist's seal: Jen Hsiung yin.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
Two figures, Shani and his tiger are depicted centrally in the image. The background is very simple with some grass tufts and a pond near the very bottom of the images.
Subject Matter
This is apart of an iconography series which examines Hindu deities and the objects and animals often associated with them. In this image Shani is seen mounted on the back of a tiger, the national animal of India and typically the vehicle of his sister, the Hindu goddess Durga. Shani also holds a white lotus, a scepter, and a Shani shankh (conch shell), used to appease him and invite his blessing.
Label Copy
Gallery Rotation Winter 2013
Iconography series: Saturn, mounted on a tiger
India, Rajasthan, Jaipur School
circa 1840
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink, 1987/1.248
In Sanskrit, Saturn is called Shani or Shanaishchara (the slow mover) because it takes thirty years for it to orbit the sun. Shani is also known for being strict and punishing those who follow the path of evil, betrayal, backstabbing, and unjust revenge. Typically he is depicted with dark skin, holding a bow and arrow, and riding upon or in a chariot pulled by a crow or vulture. As the protector of property Shani is able to repress the tendency of these birds to steal.
In this image Shani is seen mounted on the back of a tiger, the national animal of India and typically the vehicle of his sister, the Hindu goddess Durga. Shani also holds a white lotus, a scepter, and a Shani shankh (conch shell), used to appease him and invite his blessing.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please fax a request to the attention of Orian Neumann, Assistant Registrar, at 734-474-7643. For other queries, email orian@umich.edu.edu.
