池大雅筆 蘇鉄図|Cycad
mid-18th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
Image: 11 in. × 12 5/8 in. (28 × 32.1 cm) Overall with mounting: 41 9/16 × 18 1/16 in. (105.5 × 45.8 cm) Overall with knobs: 41 9/16 × 19 15/16 in. (105.5 × 50.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Accession Number
2015.300.168
Tags
Art Historical Context
Ike Taiga's *Cycad* (蘇鉄図), a mid-18th-century scroll in ink on paper captures the rugged elegance of the ancient cycad plant symbol of resilience and longevity in East Asian culture. Rendered with Taiga's signature bold, expressive brushstrokes, the painting exemplifies the Nanga (Southern School), a literati movement popular during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This approach drew inspiration from Chinese scholar-artists, emphasizing personal expression over rigid realism, and allowed Taiga to evoke the plant's textured fronds and sturdy trunk through dynamic ink washes and minimalist compos...