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Cypresses

Ikeda Koson Japanese
mid-19th century
Not on view
In this dramatic close-up of a single landscape element, Ikeda Koson renders a timeless moment in a grove of hinoki cypresses. He depicts an atmosphere of misty space and shifting light by skillfully varying ink tones from black to gray in the leaves of frond-like branchlets. Texture and form result from the application of wet ink over pale washes on the tree trunks.

Koson, a pupil of the Rinpa revivalist Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828), brought a fresh vitality to standard themes in the Rinpa repertoire through his virtuoso brushwork and ability to convey naturalistic forms without sacrificing the bold decorative impact of his predecessors.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cypresses
  • Artist: Ikeda Koson (Japanese, 1803–1868)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: mid-19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Two-panel folding screen; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 59 5/16 x 63 1/16 in. (150.6 x 160.2 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 67 1/2 x 70 1/2 in. (171.5 x 179.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.97
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons, Ikeda Koson Japanese, Pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons
Ikeda Koson
mid-19th century
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
Irises at Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges), Ogata Kōrin Japanese, Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on gold leaf on paper, Japan
Irises at Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges)
Ogata Kōrin
after 1709
Mirror of Genuine Work of Monk Hōitsu (Hōitsu shōnin shinseki kagami), Ikeda Koson Japanese, Set of two woodblock printed books; ink and color on paper, Japan
Mirror of Genuine Work of Monk Hōitsu (Hōitsu shōnin shinseki kagami)
Ikeda Koson
1817
Shō, Bamboo wood, metal, Japanese
Shō
Japanese
19th century

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