白衣観音図|White-Robed Kannon
ca. 1887
Medium
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
14 3/8 x 11 in. (36.5 x 27.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Accession Number
14.76.61.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the serene *White-Robed Kannon an exquisite album leaf by Kawanabe Kysai (1831–1889), created around 1887 during Japan's transformative Meiji period (1868–1912). This intimate painting, rendered in ink and color on (14 3/8 x 11 in.), captures the bodhisattva Kannonembodiment of compassion in—clad in flowing white robes. Kyōsai, a master of ukiyo-e and caricature known for his dynamic brushwork and whimsical flair, here channels traditional Japanese religious iconography with elegant restraint. As Japan modernized amid Western influences, Kyōsai bridged old and new, preserving spiritual...
About the Artist
Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎 (Japanese) · 1831 –1889
Japanese, 1831–1889