PERSIAN MINIATURES AND FRESCOES
WINE, PAINTING, AND POETRY
FEMME COMMUNEMENT QUALIFIEE D'INCONTROLABLE (détail), Japon Japon, Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1802 - Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawai, Etats-Unis
MUSIQUE AU PALAIS, Chine Dynastie Tang (618/907), entre c. 836 et c. 907, Encre et peinture sur soie, 48,7 cm x 69,5 cm - National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan
JEUNE FILLE PORTANT UNE JARRE DE VIN, Chine Dynastie Qing (1644–1911), XVIIe, Rouleau ; Encre et couleur sur soie 147,3 x 65,4 cm - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
PORTRAIT DE SHAOYU SOUS LES TRAITS DE LIU LING, Chine Artiste non connu, c. 1795, Rouleau ; Encre et couleur sur soie, 36,5 × 156,8 cm - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
POETE PÊCHEUR, Corée 1800s, Encre et couleur sur soie, 22,5 cm - The Cleveland Museum of Art, Etats-Unis
DES COMPAGNES FORCENT UNE GEISHA A BOIRE UNE COUPE DE VIN, PEUT-ÊTRE POUR AVOIR PERDU UNE PARTIE DE JEU DE MAINS, Japon Torii Kiyomine, fin des années 1810s; Impression sur bois en couleur; encre et couleur sur papier, 34,3 x 72,2 cm - Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio, Etats-Unis
A BORD AVEC DU VIN ET DES LIVRES, Japon Yashima Gakutei, 1786-1868, Gravure sur bois - British Museum, Londres
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (11th century) help showcase the classical Persian miniatures and miniaturist-style frescoes presented in this exhibition. Wine, which is mentioned very often in these quatrains, appears as a cure for melancholy resulting from the passage of time and the shortness of life. “Drink and be happy” is the refrain of these epicurean verses. For Khayyam, wine is an elixir of life; “the door to joy” is the tasting of wine, the birth of spring, convivial gatherings, lovers’ dreams and gallant scenes: “The caravan of life goes by quickly. Lose nothing of the sweet moments of life. Think not to the day after this night. Take wine, for you must seize life’s sweet moments.” Or, again: “In the springtime, I sometimes go to sit on the edge of a field of flowers. When a young beauty brings me a cup of wine, I hardly think of my salvation. Should I worry about that, I would be worth less than a dog.”
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