Crossing at Sano
c. 1600–1640
Medium
Hanging scroll mounted as a single-panel screen; ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
161.7 × 139.2 × 46.3 cm · painting only: 125.9 × 121.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1949.554
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Like many paintings from the Sōtatsu studio, a Kyoto-based atelier that ran the shop Tawaraya, this one is done in ink, mineral colors, and gold, and is formally reminiscent of 12th- and 13th-century paintings associated with the Japanese aristocracy. It depicts a man on horseback with two attendants crossing a bridge that once spanned the Kino River in Sano in eastern Wakayama Prefecture. The composition was inspired by a poem by Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241) that translates as follows: I stop ...