Tigers Sprang from the Artist's Imagination

Tiger
Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800)
Edo period, dated Hōreki 5 (1755)
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk
129.7 x 71 cm


Prominently displayed in the gallery, and a favorite among many, is Jakuchū's painting titled Tiger. Though they had never seen live tigers, Japanese artists used tiger skins as inspiration for their paintings. Problems arose, however, from trying to imagine this dried skin as a living animal. In the course of doing so, the tigers became quite comical with exaggerated features including enormous eyes, shrunken ears, flat noses, and massive paws. The overall disposition or character of the animal is always dependent upon the imagination of the artist.


The contrast of the rough, quick brush strokes of the sumi tree in this Jakuchū painting, and the precise, even delicate work in the tiger shows Jakuchū’s skill at its finest. Jakuchū painted Tiger in the early summer of 1755, the year he handed over the family’s greengrocer business to his younger brother in order to pursue of a life solely dedicated to painting. On the painting, Jakuchū wrote “When painting a material phenomenon, I would not paint it but from truth. Because there are no ferocious tigers in Japan, I have imitated the painting of (the Chinese Southern Song artist) Mao Yi.”
“Japanese paintings of tigers have always been a favorite of mine, for the artist must have used his own originality. The variety of the results is amazing.” – Joe Price

Itō Jakuchū: A Man with No Age was exhibited at the Bowers Museum from April 16 - June 12, 2011. All text and images under copyright and may not be copied, printed or published without permission from the lender.