Pictures of Tao Yuanming (Tōenmei) and Chinese Landscape, from the series Ten Designs for the Honchō Circle (Honchōren jÅ«ban tsuzuki) c. early 1820s

Editor: This print, by Yashima Gakutei, features Tao Yuanming and a Chinese landscape. The fan shape and muted colors give it a nostalgic feel. What symbols stand out to you in this image? Curator: Note how the fan shape itself frames the scholar, referencing leisure and refined taste. What does the wine jar suggest to you about Tao Yuanming's character? Editor: Perhaps his retreat from public life and embrace of simplicity? Curator: Precisely. And see how the lower panel contrasts that with a starker, more grounded scene. These opposing images mirror the artist’s inner world. Editor: I didn’t consider how the two images could be in dialogue. Thanks for illuminating that for me.