Description
Kiyohara Yukinobu was one of Japan's earliest and most talented female painters. Kiyohara preferred Japanese style painting techniques and subjects. Her work depicts the scenery and history of her native land. In addition to the tonalities of ink, she applied a delicate range of colors. These help identify the seasons, an important theme in Japanese life and culture.
Provenance
Harley Lee, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–1992); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1992–)
Accession Number
1992.77.1
Medium
One of a triptych of hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Painting only: 95 x 41 cm (37 3/8 x 16 1/8 in.); Including mounting: 180 x 59.4 cm (70 7/8 x 23 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Harley C. Lee and Elizabeth K. Lee
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Silk Painting Japanese
Background & Context
Background Story
Kiyohara Yukinobu (active late 1600s) was a Japanese painter known for the elegantly composed paintings of literary subjects that make him one of the accomplished painters of the early Edo period. Minamoto no Nakakuni Visits Lady Kogo from the late 1600s depicts the famous literary episode of Minamoto no Nakakuni visiting Lady Kogo in the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner that distinguishes Yukinobu's best work. The story of Minamoto no Nakakuni and Lady Kogo is one of the most famous episodes from the Tale of the Heike, and paintings depicting it represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Japanese literary painting.
Cultural Impact
Minamoto no Nakakuni Visits Lady Kogo is important in the history of Japanese painting because it depicts one of the most famous episodes from the Tale of the Heike in the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner of the early Edo period. The story of Minamoto no Nakakuni and Lady Kogo— one of the most famous episodes from the Tale of the Heike—was one of the most important literary subjects in Japanese painting, and the late 1600s painting shows this tradition at its most elegantly composed.
Why It Matters
Minamoto no Nakakuni Visits Lady Kogo is Yukinobu's elegantly composed Edo literary painting: the famous episode from the Tale of the Heike rendered in the atmospheric manner of one of the accomplished painters of the early Edo period. The late 1600s painting shows one of the most famous literary subjects in Japanese painting at its most elegantly composed.
