↗Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · late 1790s
Cherry Blossoms in the Wind
Utagawa Toyokuni
Colour palette
#705B43#735E45#52463A#64533F#6C5840#A6937B
Approximate colour proportions
Estimated from six colour groups in the museum image, including visible paper or borders. Reproduction and lighting affect the result; these are image-area proportions, not pigment measurements.
John L. Severance Fund · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) · 1300s
Bamboo in the Wind
- Date
- 1300s
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink on silk
- Dimensions
- Painting: 77.6 x 45.7 cm (30 9/16 x 18 in.); Overall with knobs: 209.5 x 75.5 cm (82 1/2 x 29 3/4 in.)
- Country / context
- China
- Movement / tradition
- Literati painting · Source ↗
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- Chinese painting ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
Bamboo is an evergreen plant that does not break under the weight of snow or the force of the wind, and thus became a favorite motif in literati painting and Chan Buddhism as a metaphor for the virtue of not yielding to worldly temptations. Xuechuang, also known as monk Puming, was a native of Songjiang, near Shanghai, who spent his life as a monk in Suzhou. In 1338, he presided over Yunyan temple on Tiger Hill. Here, he masterfully depicts a bamboo gently bent in a subtle breeze. Puming’s paintings were revered in Japan and Korea.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.
