Worm on Green Leaved Plant
Medium
Album leaf; lacquer on paper
Dimensions
4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (11.4 x 8.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
36.100.138
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate album leaf, created by the innovative Japanese artist Shibata Zeshin during the Edo period, captures a simple yet evocative scene of a worm resting on a green-leaved plant. Measuring just 4½ by 3½ inches, the work exemplifies the refined taste for small-scale nature studies that flourished in 17th- to 19th-century Japan. Zeshin, celebrated for his mastery of lacquer techniques, transforms an everyday subject into a delicate meditation on the natural world. What makes this piece particularly remarkable is its unusual medium: lacquer applied directly to paper. Traditionally used f...
About the Artist
Shibata Zeshin · 1807–1891
Japanese, 1807–1891