Phoenix

This painting depicts the profile view of a Chinese phoenix. The bird’s head extends upward in an S-shape, in a humorously ceremonial pose. The head, wings, and body are drawn using a streaking technique to create overlap. The circle shapes in the tip of the outstretched tail resemble the tail of a peacock. Jakuchu created several paintings of Chinese phoenixes, but this one, done only in black ink, is a reference to a painting done by Lin Liang, who lived during the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The painting belonged to the Daxiangguo Temple, which Jakuchu had a close relationship with. Because the shape of the phoenix in Jakuchu’s painting so closely resembles Lin Liang’s, the connection was made between the two paintings.