The Chinese emperor Ming Huang and Yang Kuei-fei
date: label: Date
content: early 17th century
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Kano school
notes: label: Label
content: From the eighth century onward, Chinese poetry, painting, and calligraphy were highly esteemed in Japan. Certain Chinese subjects, familiar to Japan's cultural leaders through literary sources, enjoyed great popularity during the early seventeenth century. Chinese poetry of the Tang dynasty (618-907), especially by Bo Juyi (772-846), had been highly appreciated in the Heian period (794-1185) and was nearly as familiar to literate Japanese as was the historic poetry of Japan.
label: Label
content: The long poem known as the Song of Everlasting Sorrow recounts the story of Emperor Ming Huang (reigned 712-756), whose excessive love for his beautiful concubine, Yang Guifei (circa 720-756), cast his empire into disorder and brought about her death in the An Lushan uprising of 756. This tragic story of passionate love and grief was illustrated in many Japanese screen paintings during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In this composition, flowers bloom profusely as the emperor and Yang Guifei meet in the palace garden.
label: Label
content: The artist of this painting is unknown, but the style reflects the characteristics of the Kano school. Kano painters, who traced their lineage back to the fifteenth century, initially specialized in the subjects and styles of Chinese painting favored in that period by elite patrons such as the shoguns of the Ashikaga line.
label: Provenance
content: To 1903
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1903 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1903 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, pg. 17, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art in the Age of Koetsu (June 6, 1998 to February 15, 1999)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Screens (February 11, 1983 to July 19, 1988)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Screen Paintings (March 10, 1961 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens, 1957 (March 20, 1957 to March 30, 1960)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 5 (February 25, 1956 to March 15, 1957)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens (October 3, 1947 to November 10, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Screens, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to April 5, 1933)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: flower
label: Topic
content: playing
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: music
label: Topic
content: cherry blossom
label: Topic
content: drum
label: Topic
content: flute
label: Topic
content: sheng
label: Topic
content: concubine
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: emperor
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1903.75
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Color and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 152 x 162 cm (59 13/16 x 63 3/4 in)