The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Plum Tree

c. 1700

Ogata Kōrin

(Japanese, 1658–1716)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
hanging scroll; ink on silk
Image: 94 x 35.4 cm (37 x 13 15/16 in.); Including mounting: 177.2 x 51.8 cm (69 3/4 x 20 3/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1983.10
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The Rinpa style of painting is named for Ogata Kōrin, even though he did not create it.

Description

Ogata Kōrin had to think through his design carefully to create these white plum blossoms and deliver their effect, as he used the reserve technique—where selected areas of the painting surface are left unpainted—to achieve it. He probably roughed in the tree before applying an ink wash to the entire silk surface, except where he intended to place the flowers. He likely then returned to articulate the petals and, in some cases, the pistils and stamens. The composition shows the tree twisting out of view, only to return with a branch of new growth jabbing forth from an old, broken limb, thereby heightening the visual impact of the blossoms.
  • ?–1983
    (Shunichi Yabumoto Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1983–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. "Year in Review for 1983." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (1984): 38-79. Mentioned: no. 230, p. 77; Reproduced: no. 230, p. 41 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned: p. 86
  • Rinpa (琳派). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).
    Later Japanese Art Rotation (Gallery 113). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 4, 2003-March 18, 2004).
    Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Rimpa Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    Suibokuga: Japanese Ink Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 1, 1985-February 24, 1986).
    The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
  • {{cite web|title=Plum Tree|url=false|author=Ogata Kōrin|year=c. 1700|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.10