Artwork
椿椿山筆 紅白桃花図（付・画稿）|Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch
椿椿山筆 紅白桃花図（付・画稿）|Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch is a paint painting by the Nihonga artist Tsubaki Chinzan. It dates from 1843 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1975.268.116
- Credit line
- The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The piece is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is studied as an example of early nineteenth-century Japanese flower painting.
The work presents red and white peach blossoms, a flowering subject rendered as a preparatory sketch for a hanging scroll. It is classified as a still-life painting and was produced in Japan in 1843 using color on paper. The depiction aligns with the genre's emphasis on botanical detail, though the sources do not elaborate on deeper symbolic or narrative meaning beyond the floral motif.
The piece is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is studied as an example of early nineteenth-century Japanese flower painting.
Technique & Style
Created in 1843, Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch is executed as a hanging scroll using color on paper. The work depicts floral subjects, specifically red and white peach blossoms, consistent with the still-life genre. As a preparatory sketch, the piece reflects the artist's handling of botanical forms through pigment application on a paper support, characteristic of Japanese painting traditions of the period.
History & Provenance
The work titled Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch was produced in 1843 by the Japanese painter Tsubaki Chinzan as a color-on-paper hanging scroll. It functions as a preparatory study for a larger composition depicting red and white peach blossoms. The scroll was created in Japan and is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it is recorded under accession number 2015.449.1. No earlier owners or sale records are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1843 by the Japanese painter Tsubaki Chinzan, this hanging scroll serves as a preparatory study for a larger composition. Executed on paper with ink, watercolor and subtle pencil underdrawings, the work records two peach branches rendered in contrasting red and white hues.
Context
During the late Edo period, artists often produced detailed sketches to refine composition and color schemes. Tsubaki Chinzan, known for his literati-inspired approach, used such studies to explore the interplay of line and pigment, a practice common among his contemporaries.
Artist & collection
Artist
Tsubaki Chinzan, originally Tasuku was a Japanese painter in the nanga style. His other art names include Hekiin Sambō, Kyūan (休庵), Shikyūan (四休庵) and Takukadō (琢華堂).
