Books of Flowers and a Writing Brush
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 x 7 1/4 in. (20.3 x 18.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture
Japan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP2208
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection, *Books of Flowers and a Brush* is a delicate 19th-century woodblock (surimono) by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a of Japan's ukiyo-e tradition Measuring just 8 x 7¼ inches, this intimate ink and color on paper work captures stacks of floral books alongside a writing brush, evoking the refined worlds of flower painting, calligraphy, and poetry. Surimono prints like this one were luxurious, privately commissioned pieces, often produced for New Year's greetings or poetry societies among Japan's literati elite. Shinsai, active in the late Edo...
About the Artist
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai · 1799–1823
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (柳々居辰斎), active from 1799 to 1823, was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker based in Edo (modern Tokyo), renowned for his mastery of surimono—luxurious, privately commissioned woodblock prints produced for elite poetry circles and New Year's celebrations. He began his training under Tawaraya Sōri before becoming a student of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai, from whom he recei...