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Blue Phoenix

A work made of pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and gold on silk.

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  • A work made of pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and gold on silk.

Date:

1921

Artist:

Ōmura Kōyō
Japanese, 1891-1983

About this artwork

Ōmura Kōyō’s Blue Phoenix overwhelms the viewer with a close-up view of a lush tropical forest inhabited by a bird species known as the great argus. A pair on the right perches calmly, in contrast with the active male bird on the left, who is engaged in a mating dance and fans his patterned feathers out across multiple panels. The whole work also features the bright red-and-orange blossoms of the royal poinciana flower. The artist observed made in sketches of this wildlife during a trip to the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Ōmura Kōyō

Title

Blue Phoenix

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1916–1926

Medium

Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and gold on silk

Dimensions

Each: 190 × 376 cm (74 7/8 × 148 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with Funds Provided by the Weston Foundation; Alsdorf Acquisition Fund;Russell Tyson Endowment Fund; President's Exhibition and Acquisition FundFoundation

Reference Number

2007.359.1-2

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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