木に鴉図|Crow on a Branch
ca. 1887
Medium
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
14 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. (36.2 x 27.3 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Accession Number
14.76.61.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831–1889), one of the most inventive artists of Japan’s Meiji period, created this intimate album leaf around 1887. Working at a time when Japan was rapidly modernizing and opening to the West, Kyōsai remained deeply rooted in traditional painting while embracing a playful, often satirical spirit. His keen observations of the natural world are evident in the poised crow that commands the composition. Painted in ink and delicate color on silk, the work exemplifies the refined album-leaf format favored by Japanese painters for private contemplation. With economical brushstroke...
About the Artist
Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎 (Japanese) · 1831 –1889
Japanese, 1831–1889