Artwork Page for Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

Details / Information for Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

1600s

Kano Tan’yū 狩野探幽

(Japanese, 1602–1674)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
Measurements
Painting: 170 x 33.9 cm (66 15/16 x 13 3/8 in.); Overall with knobs: 234 x 40.1 cm (92 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.478
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Long-armed gibbons form a chain to reach down from a tree, hoping to touch what they believe is the moon. In fact, the orb remaining beyond their grasp is the full moon’s reflection in the still surface of a pond or lake. The image is a common metaphor for the deluded mind in Buddhist thought. Gibbons do not live in Japan but were known to Japanese painters of the premodern era through paintings brought from China.
A vertical hanging scroll on tan silk depicts a chain of long-armed gibbons in black ink. From a leafy tree branch at the top center, monkeys form a vertical line. One extends a limb to a second gibbon, who reaches toward a third. This lowest monkey extends a hand toward a pale, circular moon at the base. Soft, fuzzy gray fur defines the figures, with a calligraphic signature and red seal on the right.

Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

1600s

Kano Tan’yū

(Japanese, 1602–1674)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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