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White Plum Blossoms and Moon

Itō Jakuchū Japanese
1755
Not on view
A large full moon is sole witness to a miraculous burst of white blossoms emerging out of a gnarled, old plum tree in the stillness of night. Itō Jakuchū, who painted this extraordinary, dreamlike image, was counted as one of the Three Eccentrics of the Edo period, together with Soga Shōhaku (1730– 1781) and Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799). In his exuberant depictions of plant life, he combined seemingly incompatible elements, such as realism with brilliant color and decorative abstraction.

Born the eldest son of a wholesale grocer in Kyoto, Jakuchū inherited the family business and ran it for more than fifteen years. It was not until he reached his late thirties that he began to paint full-time. This painting, inscribed with the year 1755, is one of the earliest of his dated works.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 伊藤若冲筆　月下白梅図
  • Title: White Plum Blossoms and Moon
  • Artist: Itō Jakuchū (Japanese, 1716–1800)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 1755
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 55 3/8 × 31 1/4 in. (140.7 × 79.4 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 5 15/16 in. × 38 7/16 in. (259 × 97.6 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 8 ft. 5 15/16 in. × 41 1/8 in. (259 × 104.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.213
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Peapods on a Branch, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Peapods on a Branch
Painting by Itō Jakuchū
Inscription by Musen Jōzen (Tangai)
late 1750s, before 1764
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
Portrait of Shun'oku Myōha, Unidentified artist Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, Japan
Portrait of Shun'oku Myōha
Unidentified artist
ca. 1383
Turtles, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Turtles
Painting by Itō Jakuchū
Inscription by Kamata Hō (Ryūō)
1789
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

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