Canon

About the Works

Birds and Animals in the Flower Garden

Ito Jakuchu

  • 「Birds and Animals in the Flower Garden」 Ito Jakuchu
  • 「Birds and Animals in the Flower Garden」 Ito Jakuchu

These images are based on the high resolution facsimile produced by the Tsuzuri Project. Unauthorized copying, duplication, or transfer of these images is strictly prohibited.

DATA
Artist:
Ito Jakuchu
Historical era:
Edo (18th century)
Material:
printed on washi paper
Medium:
Pair of six-fold screens
Theme:
High Resolution Facsimile of Historical Cultural Assets
Size:
Right screen H137.5 × W355.6 cm
Left screen H137.5 × W366.2 cm
Recipient:
Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of ArtMAP
[Original]
Current owner:
Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art
Material:
ink, color on washi paper
DESCRIPTION

Ito Jakuchu was a unique painter of the mid-Edo period in Kyoto. Jakuchu, whose works gave him the name of a "fantastic artist," uses a characteristic mosaic technique in this work. Here the screen is ruled into countless grids which are colored lightly, then finished with a darker color and shaded to add depth to the overall color surface. Both screens have a field with huge flowers growing wild in the foreground and water in the background. On the right screen (shown below), the white elephant is the main subject flanked by an "assortment of animals," and on the left screen, the legendary Phoenix assumes the main character among a "flock of birds." The scene depicted by the two screens brings birds and animals, both real and imaginary, to the water side.

About the Works