“Painting Edo” at the Arnold Arboretum: Hydrangeas

In this online talk, Rachel Saunders, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Curator of Asian Art, and Michael Dosmann, Arnold Arboretum Keeper of the Living Collections, discuss the story around hydrangeas they discovered while viewing the exhibition “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection” together. In Japan “ajisai” have been treasured since at least the 8th century, when they began to be celebrated in poetry. Rachel and Michael found evidence, both cultural and biological, of evolving hybridization when comparing rare painted specimens of hydrangeas in the Feinberg Collection and examining images of live specimens growing in the Arboretum’s landscape. Join us for a unique conversation informed by art, biology, and a partnership between experts. “Painting Edo” at the Arnold Arboretum is a collaboration between the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Harvard Art Museums, inspired by the exhibition “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection.” Observing artworks from the exhibition alongside the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum, invite you to marvel at the remarkable accuracy with which artists of the Edo period (1615–1868) in Japan rendered their botanical subjects. TAKE A CLOSER LOOK: + Hydrangeas at the Arnold Arboretum: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/genus/hydrangea/ + SPECIAL EXHIBITION/ “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection:” https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/paintingedo + Sōtatsu School, I’nen Seal, “Flowers of the Four Seasons (detail),” Edo period, late 17th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper. Gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg, 2017.225. https://hvrd.art/o/340441 + Sakai Hōitsu, “Birds and Flowers of the Twelve Months (Fifth Month),” Edo period, c. 1820–1828. One from a set of twelve hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk. Promised gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg, TL42096.14. https://hvrd.art/o/340420 -- Speakers: Rachel Saunders, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Curator of Asian Art and curator of the Special Exhibition “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection,” Harvard Art Museums. Michael Dosmann, Arnold Arboretum Keeper of the Living Collections. Recorded July 29, 2020. © President and Fellows of Harvard College. Video: Rachel Saunders/Michael Dosmann. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact the Department of Digital Imaging and Visual Resources at am_divr@harvard.edu.

Видео “Painting Edo” at the Arnold Arboretum: Hydrangeas автора Blossom Brigade