Heron and Butterflies with Rock, unknown maker from Japan

Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Summer 2003, Youmi Efurd (Didactic panel)
Flora & Fauna
Chinese bird-and-flower painting, fostered by imperial patronage, flourished during the Song dynasty (960-1297). The Song emperor Huizong (r. 1101-1126) himself was a painter of flower and bird subjects of considerable renown, and under his patronage the Court Academy fostered the tradition as never before, or indeed since. Huizong’s preference was for the most literal renderings of the details of nature.
The notion of the Court Academy, which had been established by Huizong in the Song, was restored in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The early Ming Academy of painters reinvigorated the genre of flower and bird painting—adopting the Song style of rendering images in meticulous detail—which continued into the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
In Chinese tradition, the meaning of the flower and bird symbolism is multi-layered. It could be aesthetic, philosophical, religious, and even political, according to the context. The motifs of plants and birds could be used to express an endless range of meanings and sentiments.
Chinese bird-and-flower painting was transmitted to Japan by Chinese visitors during the Edo period (1615-1868). As so often happened in Japanese cultural history, native artists made new combinations of traditions that had been kept distinct in China. Academic and literati influences from China were often mixed together with the Japanese preference for dramatic asymmetrical compositions and evocative brushwork. This led to a new form of bird and flower painting that owed much to China and yet was fully expressive of the Japanese spirit.

Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Summer 2003, Youmi Efurd
Nagasawa Rosetsu was one of the most popular, prolific, and creative painters of his time despite his premature death at the age of 54. He was born into a low-ranking samurai family in Yamashiro, but moved to Kyoto to study painting. When he was about 20, he became a pupil of Maruyama Ōkyo. Maruyama Ōkyo specialized in a style that combined the use of wash with a careful observation of nature and a highly detailed approach to draftsmanship. Rosetsu’s mastery of these techniques is evident in this painting.

The painting combines a variety of techniques with the dramatic placement of abstracted elements to create a formal yet light and airy composition. The mottled brushwork on the rock and butterfly wings has been created through the use of the tarashikomi, a decorative technique favored by Japanese painters. To create the effect, the artist applies a second layer of ink, paint, or water to the first layer of pigment before it has completely dried. By means of natural pooling and seeping, a variegated effect is achieved.