老梅図襖|Old Plum
1646
Medium
Four sliding-door panels (fusuma); ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions
Overall (of all four panels): 68 3/4 x 191 1/8 in. (174.6 x 485.5 cm) Overall (a): 68 3/8 x 47 5/8 in. (173.7 x 121 cm) Overall (b): 68 3/8 x 48 3/4 in. (173.7 x 123.8 cm) Overall (c): 68 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (174 x 121.3 cm) Overall (d): 68 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (174 x 121.3 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
1975.268.48a–d
Tags
Art Historical Context
Kano Sansetsu’s *Old Plum* (1646) is a magnificent set of four fusuma, or sliding-door panels, during Japan’s Edo period. As a leading figure in the Kano school dominant painting atelier serving the shogunate and elite patrons—Sansetsu specialized in bold, decorative compositions that transformed architectural spaces into immersive environments. The panels depict a venerable plum tree whose gnarled trunk and delicate blossoms stretch dramatically across the gold-leafed surface, evoking the promise of spring and the resilience of nature. Executed in ink, mineral colors, and lavish gold on pape...