Accession Number
2003/1.390

Title
Bamboo and Rocks

Artist(s)
Nakabayashi Chikutō

Object Creation Date
1836

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink on silk

Dimensions
56 1/4 in x 23 3/8 in (142.9 cm x 59.4 cm);3 15/16 in x 33 7/8 in x 4 1/8 in (10 cm x 86 cm x 10.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Helmut Stern

Label copy
Chikutô is regarded as one of the leading masters of the “third generation” of literati (amateur scholar-artist) painters in Japan—a generation that had direct access to imported Chinese paintings. He is best known for his faithful interpretations of Chinese painting styles and he was also a prolific author of painting treatises.
Chikutô was a native of Nagoya, an important urban center between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). The son of a prominent physician, Chikutô began studying painting at age fourteen. He was soon taken into the household of a wealthy
collector, Kamiya Ten’yû, under whose tutelage he was able to view large quantities of first-rate Chinese painting and given a Chinese painter’s name. Chikutô’s exposure to orthodox Chinese literati painting is evident in this work. Bamboo and rock were preferred subjects of such paintings because of their association with
the Confucian ideal of resilience in the face of hardship. There is a self-imposed discipline in the way Chikutô restricts his vocabulary of brushstrokes. The result is a very orderly image that suggests something of the artist’s personality.
Spring/Summer Gallery Rotation 2015

Subject matter
A painting of bamboo and rocks, common subjects of Chinese literati painting, which Chikuto had been heavily influenced by. The bamboo and rock are often associated with the Confucian ideal of resilience in hardship.

Physical Description
Black ink painting of bamboo shoots around rocks. Writing located in the lower left side of the painting.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
bamboo
rock (inorganic material)