Squirrel on Grapevine
19th century
Medium
Two-panel folding screen; ink on paper
Dimensions
41 1/2 in. × 55 in. (105.4 × 139.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture
Japan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harold G. Henderson, 1966
Accession Number
66.155.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Squirrel on Grapev*, a captivating two-panel folding screen byata Zeshin (1807–1891), a master of 19th-century Japanese art Created during Japan's late Edo to early Meiji periods, ink-on-paper work measures an impressive 41½ × 55 inches, perfectly suited for adorning a traditional room as a byōbu screen. Zeshin's playful depiction of a fluffy squirrel scampering amid lush grapevines, heavy with fruit and foliage, captures nature's whimsical vitality with exquisite detail. Zeshin, renowned for bridging classical Japanese techniques with innovative realism, elevated urushi-e (lacquer pa...
About the Artist
Shibata Zeshin · 1807–1891
Japanese, 1807–1891