Artwork
桃に鶴図|Flowers and Birds
桃に鶴図|Flowers and Birds is an ink painting by the Nihonga artist Taki Katei. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Brushwork combines delicate line contours with subtle washes for the petals and foliage, while the crane is rendered through controlled feather textures.
The painting employs ink and color on silk in a refined bird-and-flower (kachō) mode. Brushwork combines delicate line contours with subtle washes for the petals and foliage, while the crane is rendered through controlled feather textures. The composition balances the diagonal branch of blossoming peach against the ascending crane, uniting calligraphic linearity with atmospheric space.
The work takes the form of a twelve-leaf album, the format allowing sequential viewing, each panel integrating text and image in a unified visual rhythm.
History & Provenance
Created in 1849 by the Japanese artist Taki Katei, this work is an album of twelve leaves executed in ink and color on silk. The piece, which depicts cranes and flowers, was produced in Japan. It currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is classified as a painting.
The leaves measure 25.4 cm in height and 30.5 cm in width. No further details regarding the original commission, intermediate ownership, accession number, or exhibition history are provided in the available records.
Overview
This painting, titled Flowers and Birds (桃に鶴図), was created by Taki Katei in 1849. It is one leaf from an album, rendered in ink and color on silk. The composition features a solitary crane positioned alongside a branch of blooming peach blossoms.
This work exemplifies a traditional subject in East Asian art, executed with delicate brushwork and a subtle palette.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork presents a crane, a creature often associated with longevity and good fortune in East Asian cultures, standing beside a branch laden with peach blossoms. Peach flowers themselves symbolize spring, renewal, and sometimes immortality. Together, these elements create a composition that evokes themes of natural beauty and auspiciousness, reflecting a common artistic tradition of depicting symbolic flora and fauna.
Artist & collection
