- XIX

P-0277

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 103.7; Larghezza: 33.1; Varie: Altezza montatura: 182 cm
Larghezza montatura: 44 cm

inchiostro e colori su seta

La Rinascita della Pittura Giapponese. Vent'anni di restauri al Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Museo d'Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 28/02 - 29/06 2014

Of ancient Chinese origin, the theme of the tiger among the bamboos symbolizes the strong who find shelter with the weak and is based on a popular saying according to which only this animal is able to penetrate the thick of a bamboo forest. Since the tiger is not an animal native to Japan, painters could not observe it in real life, which is why the way in which the tiger is represented here is not realistic: the local iconography is partly derived from Chinese and Korean painting, partly immagineted. A symbol of strength and courage in Chinese tradition, the tiger is believed to be capable of fighting and deflecting negative powers and is the bearer of a legendary, mythological and cosmological physiognomy. Listed among the shishin, the "Four Sacred Creatures" (the other three are the dragon, the vermilion bird, the turtle with a snake), in archaic cosmography (which included the cardinal points, the seasons, the colors, the natural elements and the stars) the tiger is associated with the West, autumn, the color white, the wind and the constellations of Orion, Taurus and Andromeda. Furthermore, in the zodiac it is the third eponymous animal of the sub-cycles of twelve years, which is why the dating of the painting is oriented around 1818, the year of the tiger and the last year of the Bunka era. Painting with original Yamato hyōgu mount in silk: ichimonji and fūtai in kinran with a hazelnut background with drawings of onagadori in flight alternating with flowers; chūberi in two-tone donsu on a green background with ivory-colored designs of asaro stems and leaves; jōge in cream-colored shikeginu; jikushu in turned ivory. The work depicts a tiger crouching near two bamboo canes arranged diagonally. The animal looks at the sky in which a huge full moon shines. The painting features the typical features of tigers painted in Japan: narrow and very flat nose, tiny and pointed ears, enormous eyes, large and clawed paws.