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).
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of Asia
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Artist
- Ōmura Kōyō
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Title
- Blue Phoenix
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Place
- Japan (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1916–1926
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Medium
- Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and gold on silk
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Dimensions
- Each: 190 × 376 cm (74 7/8 × 148 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with Funds Provided by the Weston Foundation; Alsdorf Acquisition Fund;Russell Tyson Endowment Fund; President's Exhibition and Acquisition FundFoundation
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Reference Number
- 2007.359.1-2
Extended information about this artwork
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