The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

Gibbons Reaching for the Moon

1600s
(Japanese, 1602–1674)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
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.)
Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.478
Location: not on view

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.
  • ?–2015
    George Gund III [1937–2013], bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2015–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Gibbons Reaching for the Moon|url=false|author=Kano Tan’yū|year=1600s|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2015.478