Small Bird on a Crepe Myrtle Branch

ca. 1850s

Not on view

At a time when the ukiyo-e tradition was emphasizing scenes of contemporary life in the urban world, nanga or "southern pictures," inspired by Chinese painting of the Ming and Qing dynasties, offered a retreat into the unhurried world of nature and art. Tsubaki Chinzan shows us a formal yet abbreviated landscape, where just two softly rendered boughs of the myrtle tree open their delicate foliage to embrace the rising moon, partially obscured by clouds. The evening mood invites contemplation and quietude, in an intimate moment shared with a tiny bird who is nestled securely among the spring foliage.

Artwork Details

Title: Small Bird on a Crepe Myrtle Branch
Artist: Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: ca. 1850s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: 43 15/16 x 18 7/8 in. (111.6 x 48 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Object Number: 1975.268.118
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Tsubaki Chinzan

In the same medium

From the same time and place

The Reflection of Fragrant Flowers Dangling over a Pond, Tsubaki Chinzan Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan — The Reflection of Fragrant Flowers Dangling over a Pond
Tsubaki Chinzan
1840

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

Hawk at sunrise, Jeong Hong-Rae 정홍래 鄭弘來 Korean, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Korea — Hawk at sunrise
Attributed to Jeong Hong-Rae 정홍래 鄭弘來
second half 18th century–first half 19th century

Red and White Peach Blossoms, Tsubaki Chinzan Japanese, Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan — Red and White Peach Blossoms
Tsubaki Chinzan
1843

Shō, Bamboo wood, metal, Japanese — Shō
Japanese
19th century

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