Scroll Painting of Horse
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
5 11/16 x 7 3/8 in. (14.4 x 18.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
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
JP2058
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate elegance of *Scroll Painting of Horse* by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a masterful 19th-century woodblock print from Edo period (16151868). This intimate surimono—measuring just 5 11/16 x 7 3/8 inches—captures a horse rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper, evoking the refined tradition of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world." Surimono like this were privately commissioned luxury prints, often for poetry or New Year's celebrations, showcasing Shinsai's expertise in subtle shading, crisp lines, and luxurious embellishments such as metallic pigments or embossing. In Edo-e...
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...