Poetry Painting 1644 - 1694

This is a painting by Matsuo Bashō, made with ink on paper. It combines text with visual elements to capture a moment in time. Consider the tea kettle. It’s a vessel, but also a symbol—one that carries meanings far beyond its simple function. Across cultures, the act of sharing tea is a ritual, a moment of peace and contemplation. Think of the Last Supper, and how the sacred meal is forever captured by Leonardo da Vinci, not too different from Bashō’s kettle. Both bring about a sense of community and reflection. In Bashō’s painting, the kettle is not merely an object, but a symbol of hospitality and warmth. It calls to mind images of ancient Greek symposiums to modern coffee ceremonies—images ingrained in our collective memory that resurface, evolving through time, in different forms, but with the same emotional core.