Cranes and Pines

Matsumura Keibun

1779–1843

Cranes and Pines, early 1800s, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: ink; paper; color

Credit line: Museum purchase: Barbara Benton Wescoe Fund, Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund, and R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Fund

Accession number: 1997.0013.b

Not on display

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Label texts

Eternal Spring: Cranes

Matsumura Keibun was a key figure in the Kyoto school of painting known as Shijō. While this school advocated for the close study of nature, Keibun’s paintings feature a softer, more intimate approach. In this pair of screens, Keibun portrays red-crowned cranes on the left and white-naped cranes on the right. The birds gather under pine trees, which also symbolize longevity, with their long, evergreen lifespan.

Archive Label 2003: These screens present a delightful combination of interest in natural subjects and decorative design. The naturalistic treatment of the cranes and arrangement of the pictorial elements create a believable sense of space. The modeling of the pine tree and backward and forward movement of its branches in and out of the picture plane heightens that sense. The use of gold dust serves to deny space and contradicts this logical spatial continuum resulting in a stimulating visual and psychological tension within the painting. The imagery here is auspicious. Cranes are thought to be extremely long-lived, surviving for hundreds of years. Because of their longevity they were believed to be companions of the Daoist immortals. Evergreen pines are another symbol of longevity; they also represent winter. The young pine shoots carry an additional meaning of aspirations for a prosperous year. Archive Label date unknown: The screens present an interesting combination of naturalistic portrayal and decorative design elements. The naturalistic treatment of the birds and the arrangement of the pictorial elements to create a logical spatial continuum create a believable sense of place, heightened by the modeling of the pine tree and the backward and forward movement of the branches in and out of the picture plane. At the same time, the gold dust serves to deny space, resulting in a wonderful visual and psychological tension within the painting. The imagery here is auspicious. Cranes are thought to be extremely long-lived, living for hundreds of years. As such, they were believed to be the companions of the Daoist immortals. The evergreen pines symbolize longevity. The young pine shoots are also indicative of hopes for a prosperous year. The painting would have been well suited to some prosperous merchant.