Japonismes 2018: Jakuchu's colorful kingdom of living beings at the Petit Palais

Published by · Published on July 23th, 2018 at 07:42 p.m.
Lovers of Japanese painting from the Edo period, head to the Petit Palais from September 15 to October 14, 2018. For one month, the Petit Palais is hosting Itō Jakuchū's masterpiece, Dōshokusai-e [The Colorful Kingdom of Living Beings], a set of 30 hanging scrolls renowned for the finesse of their strokes and the brilliance of their colors, still vivid 250 years after they were made.

The Petit Palais will present The Colorful Kingdom of Living Beings by Japanese painter Itō Jakuchū, little known in France yet considered one of the greatest Japanese artists of all time. For one month, the Paris museum will host the masterpiece Dōshokusai-e[The Colorful Kingdom of Living Beings], from the Imperial Collections of Japan.

This set of thirty hanging scrolls entitled Dōshokusai-e depicts flora and fauna with impressive realistic precision. Roosters, fish, ducks and blossoming trees are painted with insane finesse on silk, a crazy feat impossible to imagine until you have the scrolls in front of you. The artist, a former fruit and vegetable wholesaler in Kyoto who decided to devote himself to painting at the age of 40 with no training whatsoever, had to apply the colors (mineral pigments and natural dyes) to the back and front of the rollers, without any contour lines!

It is an honor for Paris to welcome the scrolls of Itō Jakuchū, a true national treasure in Japan. To give you an idea, the scrolls have only left Japan once, in April 2012, to be presented at the National Gallery in Washington, and the Petit Palais in Paris will welcome them on the occasion of the Japonismes 2018 season, which celebrates 160 years of diplomatic relations between France and Japan in 2018, honor we told you.

So it's impossible to miss this great opportunity!

Practical information

Dates and Opening Time
From September 15th, 2018 to October 14th, 2018

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    Location

    Avenue Winston Churchill
    75008 Paris 8

    Accessibility info

    Official website
    www.petitpalais.paris.fr

    More information
    Opening hours: 10am-6pm Tuesday to Thursday, 10am-9pm Friday, 10am-8pm Saturday and Sunday

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