Cherry and Maple Trees
This pair of screens, painted in vivid colors on a brilliant gold-leaf background, presents a budding willow and a cherry tree in full bloom alongside two maple trees at the peak of their crimson glory. The compositions are distinctive for their array of related springtime and autumnal plants and flowers, all with poetic significance in haiku of the period. While hanging-scroll paintings by Sakai Hōitsu abound, only a half dozen or so pairs of screens in this six-panel format are known to survive, and these in particular stand out for their originality of composition, strong visual impact, and projection of lyrical elegance.
This work can be dated to late in Hōitsu’s career, when he was joined in his studio by his closest and most talented pupil, Suzuki Kiitsu (1796–1858).
This work can be dated to late in Hōitsu’s career, when he was joined in his studio by his closest and most talented pupil, Suzuki Kiitsu (1796–1858).
Artwork Details
- 酒井抱一筆 桜楓図屏風
- Title: Cherry and Maple Trees
- Artist: Sakai Hōitsu (Japanese, 1761–1828)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: early 1820s
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each): 62 3/8 in. × 11 ft. 2 5/8 in. (158.5 × 342 cm)
Overall (each): 68 7/8 in. × 11 ft. 9 in. (175 × 358.1 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, Rogers and Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Funds, and Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2018
- Object Number: 2018.55.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Sakai Hōitsu
18th century
Sakai Hōitsu
1761–1828
Sakai Hōitsu
Sakai Hōitsu
early 19th century
Sakai Hōitsu
Kameda Bōsai
ca. 1821
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