Red and White Poppies
Traditionally attributed to Tosa Mitsumochi Japanese
Not on view
The summer motif of red and white poppies arrayed across the gold-leaf surface of the screen is a decorative formula that developed during the seventeenth century and was taken up by various schools throughout the Edo period. An unusual feature of this painting is the pattern of family crests that decorates the lattice fence.
In the lower right corner an inscription by Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) attributes the work to the court painter Tosa Mitsumochi, who died a century before the celebrated Rinpa artist was born. The attribution, however, is speculative; based on its style, the work probably dates to the early seventeenth century. Nevertheless, the screen reveals the kind of court paintings that Kōrin, famous for formalized depictions of natural themes, had direct access to and would have studied.
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