Grapevines c. late 19th century

ink-on-paper

toned paper

water colours

ink painting

possibly oil pastel

ink-on-paper

linocut print

coffee painting

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

mixed medium

watercolor

This six-panel screen titled “Grapevines,” from the late 19th century, is a striking example of Japanese painting. The anonymous artist captures the graceful movement of grapevines in a detailed and expressive style, showcasing the vines' tendrils laden with clusters of fruit. The artwork, now housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is notable for its minimalist palette of black ink on a light background, creating a delicate yet captivating visual effect. The screen would have served a decorative purpose, adding a touch of natural beauty to a traditional Japanese interior.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

⋮

An enormous tangle of grapevines emerges at center left and trails up and away across the eight panels of this folding screen. The vines, depicted only in monochrome ink, are loaded with globular fruits and adorned with myriad spiraling tendrils. Although grapes lack the rich symbolic associations of the so-called Four Gentlemen (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo), paintings of grapevines are nevertheless common in all East Asian cultures, beginning with artists active in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Grapes and grapevines became a favored pictorial subject among Korean scholar-painters after the 1500s and remained popular throughout the Joseon dynasty.