Goose and Reeds; Willows in the Moonlight
A goose, wings half spread, swoops toward the surface of the water in the right-hand screen. The only indications of a shore are tops of spindly reeds bending beneath the wind in the lower right corner and waves cresting close by. On the left screen, willow trees by a river and the moon’s reflection on the surface of the water offer a more quietly lyrical view. In both, the viewpoint is low and pictorial elements are close to the viewer, giving the background space a feeling of great depth. Although they have been handed down as a pair, dates inscribed by Maruyama Ōkyo on each screen are some two decades apart. Ōkyo, founder of the Maruyama-Shijō school, blended Western-style realism with elements from Japanese and Chinese traditions of painting in a manner that made him one of the most popular artists of his day.
Artwork Details
- Title: Goose and Reeds; Willows in the Moonlight
- Artist: Maruyama Ōkyo 円山応挙 (Japanese, 1733–1795)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: right screen: 1774; left screen: 1793
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Each: Image: 60 9/16 in. × 11 ft. 7 1/2 in. (153.9 × 354.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.300.197.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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