Mallows, Chrysanthemums and Rock, Noguchi Yūkoku

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
Noguchi Minosuke (Yūkoku), though born into an Edo family of carpenters, demonstrated talents with the brush very early. Recognizing this ability, his parents presented him to the well-known painter Tsubaki Chinzan. When Noguchi was asked by Chinzan what he wished to do, he answered: “Even if I am covered with village grime, I want to paint the pure feelings evoked by the quietness found in deep mountains and misty valleys.” Chinzan then accepted him as his student and gave him the name Yūkoku meaning “deep and mysterious valley.”

Yūkoku copied Mallows, Chrysanthemums, and Rock from a painting by Chinese painter Zhang Xin (ca. 1744-after 1817) most likely because of its subject matter. Chrysanthemums were Yukoku’s specialty, and his skill in rendering them displays the training he received from Chinzan. Disregarding the meticulous delineation and muting the vibrant colors characteristic of the works by Zhang Xin, Yūkoku imbued his composition with a lyrical softness.