Reeds and Cranes

19th century

Suzuki Kiitsu Japanese, 1796-1858

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About the Artwork

Folding screens, invented by the Chinese to avert drafts and prying eyes, became an important format for Japanese painters. This expansive pair of screens begins with the masterful arrangement of Manchurian cranes among water reeds. Every major master in the Rimpa school executed at least one painting of the “thousand cranes,” symbols of longevity. Kiitsu is often considered the last great master of the Rimpa school. His satisfying balance of realism and the decorative application of touches of red, green, and blue within a predominantly monochrome palette on a shimmering gold ground make this one of his most popular and exemplary works.

Title Reeds and Cranes

Artwork Date 19th century

Artist Suzuki Kiitsu

Life Dates 1796-1858

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Japanese

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Six-panel folding screen; color paint and gold on silk

Dimensions Overall (fully open): 69 7/8 × 145 1/4 inches (177.5 cm × 3 m 68.9 cm) Installed (with 40" wide angles): 69 7/8 × 122 × 15 inches (177.5 × 309.9 × 38.1 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Asian Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Gerald W. Chamberlin Foundation, Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Endicott, Mrs. Howard J. Stoddard, Mr. Howard P. Stoddard, and Mr. and Mrs. Stanford C. Stoddard

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 79.28.1

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, lower right

Marks Stamp, in red, lower right: [seal]

Provenance

(Klaus F. Naumann, Tokyo, Japan);
1979-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Yamane, Y., and N. Tsuji. Rimpa Kaiga Zenshu 5. Tokyo, 1978, no. 130 (pls. 145, 167-169).

Mitchell, S.W. "The Asian Collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts." Orientations 13, no. 5 (May 1982): pp. 14-36, (fig. 13a).

"Family Art Game." Detroit News, April 29, 1984, p. 14 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].

"Family Art Game," Detroit News, April 14, 1985, p. 14 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 62-63 (ill.).

Emura, Tomoko. “Rinpa Artists and the Samurai Class.” Bulletin of the DIA 88, no. 1/4 (2014): pp. 80, 84 (figs. 16-18).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Suzuki Kiitsu, Reeds and Cranes, 19th century, six-panel folding screen; color paint and gold on silk. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from the Gerald W. Chamberlin Foundation, Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Endicott, et al., 79.28.1.