Art Institute of Chicago
Handwritten Letter
Soga Shōhaku 曾我 蕭白LinkedCulture matchlcp-eab895df2bae
- Date
- c. 1754
- Medium
- Two hanging scrolls, ink on paper
- Culture
- Japan
- Department
- Arts of Asia
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 271420
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
Japanese painter Soga Shōhaku was and remains well-known for his artwork, but his personal life is largely mysterious. These scrolls feature the only surviving letters by the artist, and one includes his only known self-portrait. The artist is corresponding with a friend, Shinsuke Konishi (1738–1807). In the first letter, written on New Year’s Day, Shōhaku asks Shinsuke for sake and art supplies. In the second, he thanks his friend for the gift with a poem and a self-portrait. The drawing shows Shōhaku drinking sake next to a large barrel of it, topped with a plum branch for the New Year.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Through prior gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Nickerson
- Provenance
- Private collection; sold through Tokyo Art Club, Tokyo, to London Gallery, Tokyo, Jan. 2019 [according to correspondence from London Gallery, Sept. 20, 2023; copy in curatorial object file]; offered to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2023.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033618
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