Title: Old Plum, 1646
Artist: Kano Sansetsu (Japanese, 1590-1651)
Found: Tenshoin Temple, Kyoto
Culture: Japan
Medium: fusama, ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions: Overall (of all four panels): 68 3/4 x 191 1/8 in. (174.6 x 485.5 cm )
Repository: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Description:
When you first approach this piece, the eye is immediately drawn to the snake-like black plum tree that weaves through sixteen feet of this set of four sliding panels. It stands out against a shimmering gold background made up of hundreds of gold-leaf squares that give the panel an elegant quality. This contrast between the serpentine plum tree and the angelic radiance of the background is a prime example of refined skills characterized by the renowned Kano School in Japan. The panels are dotted with pink blossoms that punctuate the dark tree and melt into the gold background. On the left, a jagged red flower grows out of something beyond the frame of the panel giving the plant an omniscient quality. These panels would have been found in the zen temple Tenshoin at the beginning of the Edo period and would have taken up an entire wall of the structure.
References:
Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44858
