Drinking Festival of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup

late 18th century

Not on view

The Tang dynasty poet Du Fu celebrated eight famous drinkers of his age in his poem Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup (Inchū hassenka). In Nagasawa Rosetsu’s playful rendering of this theme, popular with Japanese painters from the late sixteenth century on, the artist has filled his composition with images of the eight drinkers, creating an almost bazaar-like atmosphere. The brushwork in the signature dances a bit compared with his typical style of signing; this could reflect Rosetsu’s harmonizing of his signature with the giddy mood of the painting. Rosetsu was Maruyama Ōkyo’s student and pursued the carefree life of the literati. Hence he was attracted to the unrestrained lives of the individuals shown in this painting.

Artwork Details

長澤蘆雪筆　飲中八仙図
Title: Drinking Festival of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup
Artist: Follower of Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: late 18th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 51 5/8 × 23 11/16 in. (131.1 × 60.1 cm)
Overall with mounting: 88 3/4 × 29 11/16 in. (225.5 × 75.4 cm)
Overall with knobs: 88 3/4 × 32 1/16 in. (225.5 × 81.5 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Object Number: 2015.300.204
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Monkey on a Rock; Monkey Trainer with Chinese Children and Puppy, Nagasawa Rosetsu Japanese, Pair of hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper, Japan — Monkey on a Rock; Monkey Trainer with Chinese Children and Puppy
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