Eggplant and Calligraphy
Ōtagaki Rengetsu
Description
While the conventions for composing poetry (waka) were rigid, calligraphy provided a wider scope for creative expression. By modulating their brushstrokes, calligraphers could present traditional poems in new ways. In this painting, Otagaki Rengetsu’s brushstrokes are more measured, perhaps speaking to the hre background as an accomplished potter. In contrast, in the work Eggplants and a Poem by Itō Jakuchū (also in UMMA’s collection, 2003/1.403), the artist’s thick, painterly brushstrokes are spontaneous and frenetic.
Rengetsu was a rare exception within the male-centered elite culture of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), revered not only for her calligraphy but for her ceramic works, which were coveted for their delicately incised lines. Just as this work blends painting and calligraphy, Rengetsu’s painting reveals how artists blended different skill sets to develop their unique styles of calligraphy.
Subject Matter:
Best known as a poet, but she was also a talented potter, inscribing her poems on her wares, which were generally tea bowls or teapots of unglazed clay. Painted in a charming and delicate way, somewhat in the Shijō manner.
Roberts, Laurance Page, and John M. Rosenfield. A Dictionary of Japanese Artists: Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints, Lacquer. Weatherhill, 2000.
Physical Description:
Yo no naka ni A fine example
mi no nariidete of success to emulate
omou koto A lowely eggplant
nasu wa medetaki ripens and brings forth fruit
tameshi narikeri accomplishing its goal in life
Usage Rights:
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