Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009500Paulownias and Chrysanthemums
by Sakai Hōitsu
About the Artwork
In this screen, Sakai Hōitsu expertly deployed a painting technique called “dripping-in” (tarashikomi). Ink and color dripped on the surface, and allowed to pool there, created the illusionistic effect of lichen-dotted tree bark and twisted chrysanthemum leaves. Paulownia and chrysanthemum are signifiers of late spring and early autumn as well as emblems of the Japanese imperial house. Paulownia also has medicinal properties and associations with fortitude, while chrysanthemum symbolizes good government.
Inscriptions
inscription at right reads: "Hoitsu hitsu" (painted by Hoitsu); within circle: (Hoitsu); tiny gourd shape below encloses two characters "Bun-zen," Hoitsu's name.
Provenance
?-1964: American Foundation for the Maud E. and Warren H. Corning Collection, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1964-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965). Japanese Screens from the Museum and Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-May 8, 1977). Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 1-October 14, 1984). Rimpa Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989). Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001). Silver Wind: The Art of Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828) and His Circle. Japan Society Gallery, New York, NY (organizer) (September 28, 2012-January 6, 2013). Rinpa (琳派). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Sakai Hōitsu (Japanese, 1761–1828)
- Date
- early 1800s
- Medium
- Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on gilded paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 152.7 x 154.9 cm (60 1/8 x 61 in.); Overall: 157.5 x 158.5 cm (62 x 62 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Credit line
- Gift of the American Foundation for the Maud E. and Warren H. Corning Botanical Collection
- Accession no.
- 1964.386
More by Sakai Hōitsu in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009500
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