The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Chrysanthemums by a Stream

c. 1715–30 or later

possibly by Ogata Kōrin

(Japanese, 1658–1716)

Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on gilded paper

Image: 163.2 x 369.9 cm (64 1/4 x 145 5/8 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1958.206.1

Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The signature used on these screens may indicate paintings made in the last year of the artist's life, or works completed by his studio after his death.

Description

These screens recall a painting style so closely identified with Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) that it is called Rinpa, or “Rin School,” after the ideograph “rin” in his name. The highly stylized background accentuates floral groupings that have been groomed so as to appear utterly artificial, like the synthetic arrangements available today. Kōrin's genius derived in large measure from natural phenomena painstakingly observed and then manipulated to create compositions of startling refinement and sparkling isolation. This process may have grown out of Kōrin's early immersion in the family textile business, a medium that encourages such dramatic distillations of form: the stream's gold-crested waves bring to mind traditional kimono robe designs of Kōrin's era. Works with the signature seen on this painting, including a style name, or persona suggested to Kōrin by his brother Kenzan (1663–1743), are sometimes considered to have been produced either in the last year of his life, when he was very ill, or after his death. In both scenarios, the lion’s share of the work would have been done by studio assistants, but little is truly known of his studio practice. Given the regularity of the gold waves on the stream, and the tension in the arrangement of the chrysanthemums, it is also possible that the screens were made in emulation of Kōrin's designs by a later artist.

?–1958
(Yamanaka & Co., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1958–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Lee, Sherman E. Japanese Decorative Style. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 80; cat. no. 80 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 282 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 282 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 381 archive.org
Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. A World History of Art. London : Laurence King, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 12.95, p. 573
Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 62–63, cat. no. 28
Korin ten: kokuhō "Kakitsubatazu" to Metoroporitan Bijutsukan shozō "Yatsuhashizu" [Irises and Eight bridges: masterpieces by Kōrin from the Nezu Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art = 光琳展 : 国宝「燕子花図」とメトロポリタン美術館所蔵「八橋図」]. Tōkyō: Nezu Bijutsukan, 2012. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 15, fig. 13
Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 121). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 13–November 11, 2004).
Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).
Rimpa Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 1-October 14, 1984).
Japanese Screens from the Museum and Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-May 8, 1977).
Japanese Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 30-October 15, 1961); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (November 9-December 17, 1961).
{{cite web|title=Chrysanthemums by a Stream|url=false|author=Ogata Kōrin|year=c. 1715–30 or later|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.206.1