Description
Matsumura Goshun was trained in literati art by Yosa Buson and Maruyama Okyo. Here, he depicted "Oath of the Peach Garden," a scene from the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The three warriors Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees. Matsumura’s painting follows the example of Buson’s Evening Banquet at the Peach and Pear Blossom Garden, inspired by a 16th-century Li Bai poem.
Provenance
(Katsuhiro Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1987); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1987–)
Accession Number
1987.35
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 28.2 x 25.2 cm (11 1/8 x 9 15/16 in.); Including mounting: 114.3 x 44.2 cm (45 x 17 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Ink Silk Painting Japanese
Background & Context
Background Story
Matsumura Goshun (1752-1811) was a Japanese painter known for the elegantly composed, atmospheric paintings that make him one of the most accomplished painters of the Edo period and the founder of the Shijo school. Romance of the Three Kingdoms from the 1800s depicts scenes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—the famous Chinese historical novel about the Three Kingdoms period—in the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner that distinguishes Goshun's best work. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was one of the most important literary works in East Asian culture, and paintings depicting its characters represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Japanese painting.
Cultural Impact
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is important in the history of Japanese painting because it demonstrates the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner of Goshun—the founder of the Shijo school—as applied to scenes from one of the most important literary works in East Asian culture. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms—depicting the heroes and battles of the Three Kingdoms period—was one of the most important literary works in East Asian culture, and Goshun's 1800s painting shows this subject at its most elegantly composed.
Why It Matters
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is Goshun's elegantly composed Shijo painting: scenes from the famous Chinese historical novel rendered in the atmospheric manner of the founder of the Shijo school. The 1800s painting shows one of the most important literary works in East Asian culture at its most elegantly composed.
