The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cuplater 1700s · Study 1976.11.1

Context from the museum

Responding to the desires of the middle class ( chonin ), some Japanese painters of the late Edo period moved away from the seriousness associated with the Chinese theme of reclusion, focusing instead on the motif’s humorous aspects. The theme Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup is based on a poem by the renowned 8th-century Chinese poet Du Fu about his eight colleagues. These scholars eagerly sought release from their official governmental duties and then supposedly fled the capital for the countryside. There, they engaged in wildly eccentric behavior and adventurous creative work, all fueled by copious amounts of wine. Shohaku’s version of events exaggerates the scholars’ pleasure, as seen in their comical facial expressions.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup is 352.2 cm wide and 120 cm high, equivalent to approximately 138.7 × 47.2 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 2.94:1. The rectangular bounding area is 4.23 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 117.4% of the span before adding a frame. That exceeds the example wall width, so a smaller reference wall would not reproduce the recorded scale. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Six-panel folding screen, ink and cut-gold foil on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 352.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?