A Picture of Loss in a Plentiful Year
Artist
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡 芳年
(Japanese, 1839–1892)
Dateabout 1878-84
Mediumpainting on silk
Dimensionsimage: 121 x 68 cm (47 5/8 x 26 3/4 in.)
image with brocade: 84.5 cm (33 1/4 in.)
overall (hanging): 208 cm (81 7/8 in.)
image with brocade: 84.5 cm (33 1/4 in.)
overall (hanging): 208 cm (81 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund
Object number2002.305
DescriptionThe patchwork clothes, long toenails, shrunken cheeks, wispy hair, and protruding bones make for a sad portrait of these deities. However, these spirits are a travesty of harvest deities, symbolizing the famine and devastation rife in Japan during this period. The lack of a ground plane and their disappearing lower limbs make them appear ephemeral, emphasizing their gaunt appearance. Combining wet and dry brushwork, this is an extremely considered composition. Based on the arrangement of the adjacent triptych print we can speculate on the existence of a right-hand scroll that contained the lucky gods Ebisu and Daikoku.Label TextThe patchwork clothes, long toenails, shrunken cheeks, wispy hair, and protruding bones make for a sad portrait of these deities. However, these spirits are a travesty of harvest deities, symbolizing the famine and devastation rife in Japan during this period. The lack of a ground plane and their disappearing lower limbs make them appear ephemeral, emphasizing their gaunt appearance. Combining wet and dry brushwork, this is an extremely considered composition. Based on the arrangement of the adjacent triptych print we can speculate on the existence of a right-hand scroll that contained the lucky gods Ebisu and Daikoku.ProvenanceKatie and Scott McDonald, Rochester, NY
On View
Not on view
