West Lake
Ike Taiga · mid-1700s · Cleveland Museum of Art
Guide
Adjust the guideNew to it · Medium
Looking for this guide.
From the museum
West Lake near Hangzhou, China, has been home to revered poets who immortalized it in their poetry. Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi (772–846) lived in its vicinity, and Song dynasty poet Lin Bu (967–1028) led a reclusive life on Solitary Hill near the lake. Landscape paintings of West Lake gained in popularity in Japan as early as the 1400s. The distinctive, arched bridges connecting small islands in the lake identify the subject. Ike Taiga was among the first generation of Japanese artists to emulate Chinese scholars who painted as amateurs and gifted their work to friends and colleagues. Among Taiga's sources for his paintings were images he studied in Chinese wood-block–printed books.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
What did you think?
Save this work’s image and museum information on this device to read without a connection.
Ask about this work
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from what the museum has written about the work, and says so when that does not hold it.
Details
- Maker
- Ike Taiga (Japanese, 1723–1776)
- Date
- mid-1700s
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper
- Dimensions
- Painting: 58 x 133 cm (22 13/16 x 52 3/8 in.); Mounted: 170.5 x 140.3 cm (67 1/8 x 55 1/4 in.)
- Place of origin
- Japan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
More by Ike Taiga
Shown in
- To the River's South in Japanese PaintingDec 15, 2023 – Jun 2, 2024
- The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean ArtApr 15, 2011 – Aug 21, 2011
- Asian Autumn: Splendid Variety: 18th-Century Art in JapanNov 16, 1993 – Mar 6, 1994
- Suibokuga: Japanese Ink PaintingOct 1, 1985 – Feb 24, 1986
- Visions of Landscape: East and WestFeb 17, 1982 – Mar 21, 1982
