Pine Grove
late 1910s
Kyoto painter Tsuji Kako brings new vitality to a timeless subject by infusing his design of swaying pine trees with rhythm and movement. Here the symbolic association of the craggy old pine gives way to more decorative concerns. The highly stylized treatment recalls the decorative style of the Rimpa school, as well as the delicacy associated with the classic yamato-e tradition. The addition of the farmer in her indigo-dyed ikat robes injects an element of narrative into this highly-patterned and exquisitely-colored painting.
Ink and colors on silk
81 x 22 in. (205.7 x 55.9 cm)
Gift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2010.41.35
Photo: Eduardo Calderon
