Cleveland Museum of Art

Paulownias and Chrysanthemums

Sakai Hōitsu

Date

early 1800s

Medium

Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on gilded paper

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In this screen, Sakai Hōitsu expertly deployed a painting technique called “dripping-in” ( tarashikomi ). Ink and color dripped on the surface, and allowed to pool there, created the illusionistic effect of lichen-dotted tree bark and twisted chrysanthemum leaves. Paulownia and chrysanthemum are signifiers of late spring and early autumn as well as emblems of the Japanese imperial house. Paulownia also has medicinal properties and associations with fortitude, while chrysanthemum symbolizes good government. Hōitsu often painted two-panel folding screens for urban clients residing in smaller spaces. A painting after this one in the Itabashi Museum in Tokyo shows an extended composition across a pair of two-panel screens.

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