Maruyama ÔKYO
(Japan 1733–1795)
- Title
- Cranes
- Place of origin
-
Japan
- Period
- Edo (Tokugawa) period 1615 - 1868 → Japan
- Year
- circa 1770-circa 1772
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- pair of six-fold screens; colour and gold leaf on paper
- Dimensions
-
each screen: 153.0 x 357.0cm image; 169.5 x 373.0cm screen
- Signature & date
- Signed l.l., in Japanese, ink [inscribed] "Maruyama Okyo [& artist's seal]". Not dated. [left screen] Signed l.r., in Japanese, ink [inscribed] "Mayuyama Okyo [& artist's seal]". Not dated. [right screen]
- Credit
- Purchased with assistance from the Japanese Society of Sydney, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and The Sidney Myer Charity Trust 1981
- Accession number
- 109.1981.a-b
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
This stunning example of Japanese screen design shows Okyo's expressive power as well as his meticulous observation of cranes and their behaviour. The artist is attuned to the subtle relationship among the adult and juvenile birds that congregate in the top [right] screen. In contrast, in the bottom [left] screen he captures the dynamic movements of three cranes that are about to land to join the others. The artist's power of observation can be seen in details such as the half-closed eye of the resting adult crane on the far right, and the crane stretching his neck skyward.
The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.234.
- Bibliography (3)
-
Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Three years on: a selection of acquisitions 1978-1981, Sydney, 1981, 99 (colour illus.). cat.no. 29
Editor Unknown (Editor), Dômo - Australia living handbook, Paddington, 2000, 230 (illus.). Article by Chiaki Ajioka in Japanese about the AGNSW
'Edo Painting Schools', The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 234-235 (colour illus.). The colour illus. on page 235 is a detail of this work.
- Exhibition history (1)
-
The art of Japanese screen painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 Nov 2004–06 Feb 2005.
