1700
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Plum Tree is a 1700 unspecified by Ogata Kōrin, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a single plum tree twisting across a dark background, its branches heavy with white blossoms. The artist left the flowers unpainted—just blank silk—while the rest of the surface is covered in ink. This "reserve" trick makes the petals glow without a single brushstroke. The tree feels alive, as if it’s growing right in front of you. Look up the technique called *sfumato* to see how other artists used soft edges to create light.
Ogata Kōrin had to think through his design carefully to create these white plum blossoms and deliver their effect, as he used the reserve technique—where selected areas of the painting surface are left unpainted—to achieve it. He probably roughed in the tree before applying an ink wash to the entire silk surface, except where he intended to place the flowers. He likely then returned to articulate the petals and, in some cases, the pistils and stamens. The composition shows the tree twisting out of view, only to return with a branch of new growth jabbing forth from an old, broken limb,…
The Rinpa style of painting is named for Ogata Kōrin, even though he did not create it.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Ogata Kōrin (Japanese: 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School.
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