Portraits and Poems of the Thirty-six Poetic Immortals
This album contains the imaginary portraits of thirty-six of revered masters of poetry from the Nara (710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods, each accompanied by one of his or her verses on the facing page. Selections of the greatest poets were made by connoisseurs of the late Heian period, with Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (active 686–705), long regarded as the pre-eminent poet of Japan, given first place.
The Sumiyoshi school of painting was founded by Jokei (1599–1670), a former member of the Tosa school who established his own atelier in Edo. It specialized in depictions of the “poetic immortals,” and used fine detail and elements drawn from yamato-e—native “Japanese style” painting. Jokei’s son Gukei (also known as Hirozumi) served the Tokugawa shogunate as a painter of both classical subjects and genre scenes.
The Sumiyoshi school of painting was founded by Jokei (1599–1670), a former member of the Tosa school who established his own atelier in Edo. It specialized in depictions of the “poetic immortals,” and used fine detail and elements drawn from yamato-e—native “Japanese style” painting. Jokei’s son Gukei (also known as Hirozumi) served the Tokugawa shogunate as a painter of both classical subjects and genre scenes.
Artwork Details
- 住吉具慶筆 三十六歌仙画帖
- Title: Portraits and Poems of the Thirty-six Poetic Immortals
- Artist: Sumiyoshi Gukei (Japanese, 1631–1705)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1674–92
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Album of thirty-six paintings and thirty-six poems; ink, color and gold on silk and paper
- Dimensions: Image (each leaf): 6 7/8 × 6 5/16 in. (17.4 × 16 cm)
Album: 8 3/4 × 7 11/16 × 2 5/8 in. (22.3 × 19.5 × 6.7 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.300.24
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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