The Vinegar Tasters
painter
Unknown
Dateearly 17th century
Place MadeJapan, East Asia
MediumInk, mineral pigment, and gold leaf on paper; two fold screen
Dimensions167 x 187 cm (65 3/4 x 73 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP20e2
eMuseum ID730166
EmbARK ObjectID11833
TMS Source ID994
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe Three Vinegar Tasters illustrates the unity of the three great East Asian religions and philosophies. In the Japanese painting, three sages representing Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism gather around a barrel containing wine that has soured to vinegar. All three react to the sour taste with puckered cheeks showing that despite their different paths, they respond in the same way to the same essential reality.
BibliographyNotesLeonard & Co. Exhibition and Sale by Auction of Wonderful Collection of Silk Screens and Fabrics and Ancient Wood Carvings from Buddhist Temples... (Boston, 27-30 March 1901), p. 22, lot 177. (as by Kano Motonobu)
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 6. (as by Kano Motonobu)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 171. (as Japanese, late 18th century)
Yasuko Horioka. "Japanese Screens-I" Fenway Court (Dec. 1968), pp. 29-33, fig. 3. (as copied from the work of a Kano artist, 17th century or 18th century; copying elements of Kano Yukinobu's Vinegar Tasters, Toyko National Museum, no. 53)
Yasuko Horioka. "Japanese Screens-III." Fenway Court (Jun. 1969), p. 64. (the subject as Chinese)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 56-57, no. 23. (as Japanese, Kano school, 17th century)
Victoria Weston. East Meets West: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Okakura Kakuzo. Exploring Treasures in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum V. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1992), pp. 47-50, ill. (as Japanese, Edo period, early 17th century; Kano school)
Talia Andrei, "The Vinegar Tasters," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 April 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/vinegar-tasters
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 6. (as by Kano Motonobu)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 171. (as Japanese, late 18th century)
Yasuko Horioka. "Japanese Screens-I" Fenway Court (Dec. 1968), pp. 29-33, fig. 3. (as copied from the work of a Kano artist, 17th century or 18th century; copying elements of Kano Yukinobu's Vinegar Tasters, Toyko National Museum, no. 53)
Yasuko Horioka. "Japanese Screens-III." Fenway Court (Jun. 1969), p. 64. (the subject as Chinese)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 56-57, no. 23. (as Japanese, Kano school, 17th century)
Victoria Weston. East Meets West: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Okakura Kakuzo. Exploring Treasures in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum V. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1992), pp. 47-50, ill. (as Japanese, Edo period, early 17th century; Kano school)
Talia Andrei, "The Vinegar Tasters," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 April 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/vinegar-tasters
MarksNotesInscribed (on a paper label affixed to the upper left corner of the frame): 177
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Matsuki sale at Leonard & Co., Boston for $22 on 28 March 1901, lot 177.
