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Orchid pavilion gathering

Orchid pavilion gathering
(Ranteikyokusuizu 蘭亭曲水図)
 1778

Medium
ink on silk
Measurements
115.0 × 58.6 cm (image and sheet)
Place/s of Execution
Japan
Inscription
inscribed in brush and ink u.r.: 安永七戊戌春 / 曾我蕭白
stamped in red ink u.r.: 蕭白
Accession Number
2010.112
Department
Asian Art
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by The Yulgilbar Foundation, 2010
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Gordon Darling Foundation
Gallery location
Not on display
Physical description
In Soga Shōhaku’s majestic mountain landscape we find gatherings of figures enjoying poetry writing games and philosophical discussion. One group of picnicking participants sits upstream composing several lines of verse. Their incomplete poem floats downstream, with a cup of rice wine, to be completed by a second group of participants. Shōhaku’s stylised clouds, rock formations, tiny figures and variety of trees, brushed with gestural precision onto silk, reveal his unique innovations in Japanese painting and design.