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Cherry and Maple Trees

Sakai Hōitsu Japanese
early 1820s
Not on view
This pair of screens, painted in vivid colors on a brilliant gold-leaf background, presents a budding willow and a cherry tree in full bloom alongside two maple trees at the peak of their crimson glory. The compositions are distinctive for their array of related springtime and autumnal plants and flowers, all with poetic significance in haiku of the period. While hanging-scroll paintings by Sakai Hōitsu abound, only a half dozen or so pairs of screens in this six-panel format are known to survive, and these in particular stand out for their originality of composition, strong visual impact, and projection of lyrical elegance.

This work can be dated to late in Hōitsu’s career, when he was joined in his studio by his closest and most talented pupil, Suzuki Kiitsu (1796–1858).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 酒井抱一筆　桜楓図屏風
  • Title: Cherry and Maple Trees
  • Artist: Sakai Hōitsu (Japanese, 1761–1828)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: early 1820s
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each): 62 3/8 in. × 11 ft. 2 5/8 in. (158.5 × 342 cm)
    Overall (each): 68 7/8 in. × 11 ft. 9 in. (175 × 358.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, Rogers and Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Funds, and Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.55.1, .2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Blossoming Cherry Trees, Sakai Hōitsu Japanese, Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Blossoming Cherry Trees
Sakai Hōitsu
ca. 1805
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Rough Waves, Ogata Kōrin Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Rough Waves
Ogata Kōrin
ca. 1704–9
Ink Traces of Kenzan (Kenzan iboku), Sakai Hōitsu Japanese, Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan
Ink Traces of Kenzan (Kenzan iboku)
Sakai Hōitsu
1823
Koto (箏), Various woods, ivory, metal, nylon, tortoiseshell, abalone, lacquerwork, Japanese
Koto (箏)
Japanese
20th century

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