On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Warbler in a Plum Tree
Ike (Tokuyama) Gyokuran Japanese
Not on view
This crisp, refreshing vignette of a bush warbler (uguisu) perched atop branches of blossoming plum celebrates the rejuvenation of the world in springtime. In the foreground, orchids are rendered in relaxed yet expert brushwork, with washes of pale blues complementing dark ink and modulated grays. Ike Gyokuran’s works on silk often exhibit a refinement, as seen here, absent in some of her paintings on paper. Gyokuran’s husband, Ike Taiga, was also a painter of great acclaim, and we know that they collaborated on painting projects.
This hanging scroll is both signed and sealed with her art name, “Gyokuran.” The artist placed another of her seals, reading “Shōfū,” in the middle of the composition as a visual accent. “Shōfū” can also be read “Matsukaze,” or “wind through the pines,” and relates to the artist’s given name, Matsu.
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