Beauty with Fireflies
early 1800s
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk (ivory roller ends)
Dimensions
painting: 95.6 × 33.2 cm · mounted: 181.5 × 45.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the Kelvin Smith Family
Accession Number
2015.85
Tags
About this artwork
A young woman has passed beneath an aged willow tree as she strolls along a riverbank carrying a cage full of fireflies. The painting is the work of Kubo Shunman, best known as a composer of witty verses in 31-syllables (kyōka) and designer of limited edition prints called surimono. Shunman was active during the mature era of ukiyo-e production, and his more formal paintings, such as this one, most often took as their subjects beautiful Chinese or Japanese women. Here, he commemorates one of sum...