ARTISTS / ARTWORKS

WORK OF THE MONTH

Ikeno Taiga “Landscape”

Color on silk, with a box signed and sealed by Kosugi Hoan and Yamanaka Rankei, with a certificate of authenticity by Geppo Shinryo and Geppo Giryo

90×34㎝ / 180×48㎝

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of his birth this year, Ikeno Taiga is one of the greatest literati painters of the Edo period. He loved to travel, visiting all parts of Japan and capturing the nature he saw in his paintings.

In this dynamic depiction of a Chinese-style landscape, the inscription in praise of the work is a passage from the Chinese Tang dynasty poet, Meng Haoran's "Zhang Ji Banquet Hall," which reads: "Around the island, they drink together on the boat, and when the mountains appear before their eyes, they recite poetry," which brings to mind the elegant banquet of a literati. However, the poem ends with the words, "I know not how the years and months of those who write have suffered a setback," and is a poem about life's adversities. The combination of the unadorned beauty of the landscape created by Taiga's breathtaking painting skill and Meng Haoran's poem highlights the transience of the human world and the fragility of things. This is truly a beautiful blend of poetry and painting, a rare gem of literati painting.

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