Red Cliff of China
Mori Kansai
Description
Chinese poetry became an important form of expression for Japanese literati of the late Edo period. Most educated men were familiar with Chinese classical verse from the Tang (618–907) and Song period (960–1279); most could compose in Chinese, and many wrote their death poems in Chinese. Among the most admired poets was the Song essayist and art critic, Su Shi (ëhÁg, a.k.a. Su Tongpo ëhìåö±, 1036–1101). The last three paintings in the exhibition all allude to his rhyme prose on a journey to the Red Cliff in south China, a meditation on friendship and transience. The small boat carrying Su and his companions past towering cliffs identifies the scene.
Mori Kansai was a native of Chôshû (modern Yamaguchi Prefecture), at the westernmost end of Japan’s largest island. He studied painting in Kyoto with Maruyama Ôkyo and his pupil Mori Tetsuzan, specialists in the “naturalist” school rather than participants in literati circles. Stylistically, the two groups overlapped considerably by the late nineteenth century. Like Fujimoto Tesseki, Kansai became deeply involved in the movement to overthrow Tokugawa rule; after the imperial restoration of 1867, he became one of the leading painters in Kyoto.
Maribeth Graybill, for the exhibition "Japanese Visions of China," 9/21/02 - 1/26/03
Subject Matter:
Chinese poetry became an important form of expression for Japanese literati of the late Edo period. Most educated men were familiar with Chinese classical verse from the Tang (618–907) and Song period (960–1279); most could compose in Chinese, and many wrote their death poems in Chinese. Among the most admired poets was the Song essayist and art critic, Su Shi (ëhÁg, a.k.a. Su Tongpo ëhìåö±, 1036–1101). The last three paintings in the exhibition all allude to his rhyme prose on a journey to the Red Cliff in south China, a meditation on friendship and transience. The small boat carrying Su and his companions past towering cliffs identifies the scene.
Maribeth Graybill, for the exhibition "Japanese Visions of China," 9/21/02 - 1/26/03
Physical Description:
Three figures are sitting in a boat on a river with cliffs lining the river. On the cliffs are trees. Mist is in the air hiding part of the cliffs and other places in the background. On the bottom right corner of the painting, there is a signature and two seals.
Usage Rights:
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