Title: Old Plum, 1646
Artist: Kano Sansetsu
Origin: Tenshoin Temple, Kyoto
Culture: Japanese
Medium: Fusama, ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions: Four Panels Total: 68 3/4 x 191 1/8 in. (174.6 x 485.5 cm )
Repository: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Description: This piece takes the form of four sliding door panels. Across each panel outstretches the limbs of a great plum tree from which the work gets it’s name. There is an almost river-like quality to the way that it flows across each panel. It is depicted having grown both upwards and downwards alluding to a great sense of continuity as well as adversity. Despite this grandeur, the humble plum tree seems to loom over an empty and lonely expanse. A rocky ledge stretches out into the horizon beckoning the viewer into the scene. Despite appearing lonely, there is an overwhelming feeling of calm and tranquility. The tree itself consists of rich golds and browns provide a sense of melancholy, but it is brightened every so slightly by delicate pink blossoms. In the left panel, red blossoms can be seen, drawing the eye to the final result of the branch’s journey thus far as it grows from right to left.
