Autumn Landscape
ca. 1780
Medium
Hanging scroll, color on satin
Dimensions
14 1/4 in. × 10 in. (36.2 × 25.4 cm) Overall with mounting: 47 3/4 × 15 in. (121.3 × 38.1 cm) Overall with knobs: 47 3/4 × 17 1/8 in. (121.3 × 43.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number
1975.268.97
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Yosa Buson's *Autumn Landscape* (ca. 1780) is a exquisite hanging scroll painting in color on satin, capturing the serene beauty of Japan's changing seasons during the Edo period (1615–1868). Buson, a renowned poet-painter and master of haiga—paintings paired with haiku—excelled in literati-style landscapes inspired by Chinese Southern School traditions. This compact work (14¼ × 10 in.) evokes the crisp melancholy of autumn, with misty mountains and foliage rendered in delicate ink and subtle pigments, reflecting Zen-influenced themes of impermanence and harmony with nature. As a hanging scroll, it was designed for intimate display in a tokonoma alcove, unrolled for contemplation during seasonal gatherings. The satin's lustrous surface enhances the colors' vibrancy, a technique Buson used to blend poetry's brevity with painting's expansiveness. Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Harry G. C. Packard Collection, this piece highlights Edo Japan's flourishing arts patronage, where scholar-artists like Buson bridged poetry and visual expression. Visitors will appreciate how Buson's economical brushwork invites quiet reflection, embodying wabi-sabi aesthetics amid towering peaks and falling leaves.