The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Poem by Du Fu

1983

Aoyama Sanu

(Japanese, 1912–1993)
Japan, Shōwa period (1926–89)
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Image: 161 x 38.5 cm (63 3/8 x 15 3/16 in.); Mounted: 220 x 52 cm (86 5/8 x 20 1/2 in.)
Gift of Aoyama Keiji 2011.17.1
Location: Not on view

Description

Aoyama Sanu used a calligraphic form called running script to brush this composition by Du Fu (712–770) in a mode of classical Chinese poetry that features eight lines of five-character regulated verse. The poem describes the immersive sensation of viewing a vivid mural of the legendary Isle of the Immortals on the wall of a monk’s residence.
  • 1983–2011
    Aoyama family collection, Tokyo, Japan, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2011–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Sŏn Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned: P. 97; reproduced: P. 94, no. 95
  • Contemporary Calligraphy and Clay. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7, 2024-June 15, 2025).
    The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
  • {{cite web|title=Poem by Du Fu|url=false|author=Aoyama Sanu|year=1983|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.17.1