Currently not on view
Calligraphy and Bamboo
Three paintings of bamboo are each coupled with a different five-character, two-line Chinese poem excerpt written in Taiga’s bold cursive calligraphy. Shown in various stages of growth, bamboo has long symbolized gentlemanly virtue. The hollow center represents humility, the straight stalk embodies rectitude, and, as it remains evergreen, the plant is seen as persistent and a symbol of longevity. The poems seem unrelated to the paintings, and this screen is a pair with another six-fold calligraphy-and-bamboo screen that is presently in a private collection in Japan.
Information
Asia, Japan
Ike no Taiga was a child prodigy as a painter and calligrapher and was one of the most important artists of the Edo period. Along with Yosa Buson, he was known as a major force in the category of nanga painting (paintings that drew inspiration from images created during China’s Southern Song period). Throughout his career he strove to reference traditional Chinese motifs and techniques with a flair for stylistic innovations. Taiga was born into a poor family, his father was a farmer in the region around Kyoto. When he was six his widowed mother scraped together enough funds to send him to the Zen temple Manpuku-ji to study calligraphy and religion. At the age of 14 he set up shop in Kyoto as an artist and already known as a talented painter and an acclaimed calligrapher. Taiga’s association with Manpuku-ji would last throughout his life. It is highly likely that as a center for the study of Chinese culture, the temple and its monks played a major role in Taiga’s interest and knowledge of Chinese painting.
This is one of a pair of screens, the other is in a private collection in Japan. The three calligraphy panels are Chinese poems, each are five character-2 line couplets. The poems are unrelated to each other nor are connected to the bamboo paintings. The screen can be viewed as a collage of Taiga’s two modes—virtuosic calligrapher and talented painter. One of the poems on the other screen hints that it was made as a celebration gift, perhaps a sixtieth birthday present. The choice of bamboo is fitting for such a gift as it is symbolic of a lofty gentleman of high character and sixty marks the completion of five calendrical cycles that equal a full life. The different bamboo paintings capture different stages of growth—the limp leaves of the bamboo painting on the left panel seem to speak to old age. In contrast, the sturdy, buoyant leaves on the right panel could allude to youth.
All three of the calligraphy panels are written in a combined running (semi-cursive) and grass script (cursive). For these couplets Taiga employs a large brush, saturated with ink to create full-bodied, rounded characters. The resulting characters are full of energy and seem to whirl and move down the paper. The abrupt halting of the brush creates clear endings of each stroke. This stop and start mode further enhances the rhythmic nature of the writing.
