Courtier and Young Attendant Gazing at a Landscape
1796
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, textured ground
Dimensions
4 7/8 x 5 1/4 in. (12.4 x 13.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Marjorie H. Holden Gift, 2012
Accession Number
2012.248.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate woodblock print *Courtier and Young Att Gazing at a Landscape (1796), Kubo Shunman captures a serene moment from Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This surimono—a luxurious, privately commissioned print often created for New Year's greetings or poetic gatherings—depicts an elegant courtier and his young attendant pausing to admire a distant vista. The small scale (just 4 7/8 x 5 1/4 inches) invites viewers into a private reverie, blending human figures with evocative landscapes in the ukiyo-e tradition of "pictures of the floating world." Shunman's mastery shines in the refined ...
About the Artist
Kubo Shunman · 1757–1820
Japanese, 1757–1820