Qin and Calligraphy - Delights c. mid 18th century
yanagisawakien
minneapolisinstituteofart
ink-on-paper, hanging-scroll
natural stone pattern
naturalistic pattern
random pattern
wave pattern
animal print
japan
possibly oil pastel
ink-on-paper
hanging-scroll
tile art
abstract pattern
organic pattern
paint stroke
calligraphy
"Qin and Calligraphy - Delights" is a work of Japanese calligraphy by Yanagisawa Kien, a noted artist of the mid-18th century. The artwork, displayed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, features four Chinese characters in bold black ink on a pale pink background. The elegant strokes of the calligraphy reflect the artist's skill in this traditional art form. The characters themselves evoke a sense of serenity and contemplation, suggesting the pleasure of engaging with music and literature.
Comments
The Chinese literati favored four accomplishments (Jap. kinki shoga) as elegant pastimes: playing the qin (seven-stringed lute), playing Chinese chess, practicing calligraphy, and painting. This theme was also taken on by Japanese literati artists, and the words kinki shoga were symbolically equated with the nature of a scholar. Yanagisawa Kien (1704–1758) was a calligrapher and painter who experimented with heterodox themes and styles. A pioneer of the Japanese literati movement, his works express an eccentric style found in Chinese Qing dynasty (1644–1912) individualists from around the same time. Instead of repeating the common formula of qin-chess-calligraphy-painting, he chooses to dismiss chess and painting and replace them with an expression of joy that the remaining two pastimes brought. His calligraphy, executed in clerical script, continues with the classical theme by articulating the feeling: “Qin, Calligraphy, and One-hundred Delights.”琴書百樂
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