Homecoming of Tao Yuanming

Born in Edo (modern Tokyo), Nanko was a Nanga painter who first served under Masuyama Sessai (1754–1819), a member of the ruling Tsu clan in Ise province, who then became a pupil of Kimura Kenkado (1736–1802). Nanko later studied in Nagasaki and learned the Chinese manner of painting. At the time he was as well known as his contemporary Nanga artist, Tani Buncho (1763–1840). Nanko’s image of Tao Yuanming followed the literary tradition but also reflected a new visualization of Tao and his anecdotes in the Edo period. Interested in more representational depiction and narrative structure, Nanko’s Tao Yuanming seems a more than metaphysical and symbolic image. Nanko’s painting achieved a poetic expression with his refreshing and elegant use of color, shading, and ink washes. (“Tradition, Transmission, and Transformation in East Asian Art,” curated by Cornell PhD student Yuhua Ding under the supervision of Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum January 23-June 12, 2016)