渡辺省亭筆 「七美人之図」|Seven Beauties of the Bamboo Grove
early 20th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink, color, and possibly lacquer on silk
Dimensions
Image: 64 9/16 × 33 7/8 in. (164 × 86 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, in honor of John T. Carpenter, 2022
Accession Number
2022.344
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In this delicate hanging scroll, seven women in richly patterned kimonos gather among tall bamboo stalks that rise through a softly misted atmosphere. Their garments display a lively palette of pinks, reds, greens, and golds, with some figures standing gracefully while others kneel or turn toward one another, creating a lively yet harmonious composition. Subtle ink washes define the bamboo and foliage, while fine brushwork and touches of color bring out the textures of silk robes and the gentle expressions of the figures. Painted by Watanabe Seitei in the early twentieth century, during Japan’s Meiji period, the work is titled Seven Beauties of the Bamboo Grove. Seitei, celebrated for his refined nihonga technique, combines traditional ink painting with vivid mineral pigments on silk to evoke both elegance and quiet narrative. The scroll’s acquisition by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2022 highlights its importance as a late-career example of Meiji-era artistry that reinterprets classical Chinese themes of scholarly retreat through a distinctly Japanese lens of feminine grace and natural beauty.
About the Artist
Watanabe Seitei 渡辺省亭 (Japanese) · 1851 –1918
Japanese, 1851–1918