Existing comment:
A Crane
Style of Ogata Kōrin
Edo period, 19th century
Japan
Ink and color on paper
F1887.1
Nearly from the beginning of his career as a connoisseur-collector, Freer cultivated the habit of cross-cultural comparison and juxtapositions. These objects are among the earliest Japanese works to enter Freer's collection. He purchased the fan from a New York dealer in the winter of 1887. Later that same year he acquired the Second Venice Set of prints by Whistler. In 1892 he bought his first Asian ceramics, including this Satsuma ware bottle. Freer said its underglaze design reminded him of a "Whistlerian landscape." The decoration's spare composition, textured surface, and delicate linearity echo similar formal qualities in Whistler's prints. |