The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 14, 2024
Portrait of Basho
1700s
(Japanese, active 1700s)
Painting only: 28.2 x 47 cm (11 1/8 x 18 1/2 in.); Including mounting: 112.5 x 64.2 cm (44 5/16 x 25 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1988.72
Location: not on view
Description
The 15th-century poet Matsuo Basho is still considered Japan’s greatest master of the haiku poem, a short, 17-syllable verse form that relates some aspect of nature to the human experience. Although he was one of the most celebrated men of his day, he pursued a simple life of self-imposed poverty and solitude. In this portrait, Ichijun alluded to Matsuo’s haiku about the transient life: warau beshi naku beshi, waga asagao no, shibomu toki (to smile or to cry when my face in the morning [glory] is wilted).- Cleveland Museum of Art, and Sŏn Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 15-16, no. 1
- The Lure of Painted Poetry: Cross-cultural Text and Image in Korean and Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
- {{cite web|title=Portrait of Basho|url=false|author=Ichijun|year=1700s|access-date=14 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.72