Colorful realm : Japanese bird-and-flower paintings by Itō Jakuchū / Yukio Lippit with Ōta Aya, Oka Yasuhiro, and Hayakawa Yasuhiro ; photography by Shirono Seiji.
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, The Imperial Household Agency, and Nikkei, Inc., in association with the Embassy of Japan. Exhibition dates, National Gallery of Art, March 30-April 29, 2012. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
On the colorants / Hayakawa Yasuhiro. Colorful realm of living beings : juxtaposition, naturalism, and ritual / Yukio Lippit -- Jakuchu's Kyoto -- Shokokuji -- Natural history and colorful realm -- Ritual contexts -- Jakuchu's seals -- The rediscovery of Jakuchu -- Jakuchu's legacy : the artist's masterpiece and its influence / Ota Aya -- The imperial household collection -- The original icon -- Jakuchu's innovations -- The verso of representation -- Yukio Lippit -- Traditional paintings in Japan : materiality, structure, and conservation / Oka Yasuhiro -- On the colorants / Hayakawa Yasuhiro.
Summary:
"A much-anticipated harbinger of spring, the cherry blossom is also exemplary of the Japanese artistic aesthetic--a delight in simple, natural beauty and an attentiveness to the changing seasons. This spring will mark the centennial of Japan's gift of three thousand cherry trees to Washington, DC, and this sumptuously illustrated catalogue is the companion to a celebratory exhibition at the National Gallery of Art featuring the work of Ito Jakuchu.Jakuchu (1716-1800), a wealthy wholesaler and talented painter, is, in Japan, the most recognized artist of the premodern era. His thirty-scroll set of bird-and-flower paintings titled Colorful Realm of Living Beings is a renowned cultural treasure, one of the most beautiful and skilled examples of how the natural world is depicted and symbolized in Japanese art. Presenting gorgeous flora and fauna in meticulous detail, the scrolls are reunited here with Jakuchu's triptych of the Buddha Sakyamuni from the Zen monastery Shokokuji in Kyoto. This stunning volume reproduces these masterpieces of Edo-period art and complements them with extensive background material on their significance. Recent conservation of the scrolls has revealed new information about the materials and techniques used by Jakuchu, and those findings are discussed in the volume, offering a multifaceted understanding of the artist's virtuosity and innovation as a painter. As the first English-language examination and overseas display of Jakuchu's Colorful Realm in its entirety, the book and exhibition will offer new audiences a chance to encounter this landmark work-- generously lent by the Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.