Heron on a Willow Branch
Maruyama Ōkyo (Japanese, 1733–1795)
late 1700s
Medium
Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, lacquer, and gold on silk
Dimensions
69.4 × 185 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1997.108
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
Okyo was the most influential painter and teacher of his time in Kyoto. His mastery of brush and ink found expression in a variety of Chinese and Japanese subjects, painting styles, and formats. This depiction of a heron on a willow branch is done in a classical Japanese painting (yamato-e) style, utilizing flat areas of colorful pigments set against an expansive background with little or no spatial depth.