Collection Online as of June 10, 2023

A Poetic Gathering

late 1700s-early 1800s

Matsumura Goshun 松村呉春

(Japanese, 1752–1811)

Japan, Edo period

(1615-1868)

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Image: 106.4 x 26.8 cm (41 7/8 x 10 9/16 in.); Overall: 184.2 x 34 cm (72 1/2 x 13 3/8 in.)

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1983.188

Location

not on view

Description

In Japan, both Chinese-style poems (kanshi) and Edo period Japanese poems (haikai) paralleled the Chinese literati and Japanese painting haiga traditions. Edo literati painter Matsumura Goshun painted eight poets from the anthology of 36 haikai poets compiled by his teacher Yosa Buson. When Buson died in 1783, Matsumura was asked to care for his teacher’s young daughter; Matsumura added paintings to Buson’s poetic writings to sell and raise money for her marriage. Here, he included Buson’s poem at the top of the painting.

Citations

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Sŏn Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 22-23, no. 8

Exhibition history

Nara National Museum, Japan (2/21-3/29/98); Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo (4/28-6/21/98) "Highlights of Asian Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art" p 138, cat. no. 91

The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/14/01-9/16/01 (2nd of 2 rotations). "Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art."

Cleveland Museum of Art, (3/27-8/28/11); "The Lure of Painted Poetry" cat. no. 8.

The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).

The Lure of Painted Poetry: Cross-cultural Text and Image in Korean and Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).