Image
Description
Maker
Culture
Title
The Tale of Genji
Period
Year
Medium
Materials/Techniques
-
Techniques
Materials
ink, color, goldSupports
Geography
-
Origin: Japan
Dimensions
-
17.8 x 15.6 x 2.5 cm (7 x 6 1/8 x 1 inches)
Credit / Object Number
-
Credit
Mary B. Jackson Fund, Jesse Metcalf Fund, and Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund
Object Number
82.103.1 Type
Projects & Publications
Publications
Exhibition History
Exhibition History
Label copy
This album is an example of the highly refined paintings produced to illustrate The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari). These works often predated the printmaking tradition by centuries and were a point of inspiration for Japanese printmakers.
This chapter of The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) shows Genji in exile at Suma, far from the court life in Kyoto to which he was so accustomed. This painting is similar in composition to renditions of the same subject in the medium of print.
Label copy
The Tale of Genji, written in about AD 1000 by Murasaki Shikubu, is one of the great works of Japanese literature. Set in the courtly world of Heian society (794-1185), it tells the tale of Genji ("the shining prince") and his son and grandsons.
This two-volume album, executed in the Japanese painting style known as yamato-e, is characterized by cut-off roofs and bird's-eye views into schematized architectural interiors; cloud bands that define spatial recession; and native Japanese subject matter. The Chinese technique of line drawing (baimaio) codified in the 11th century is utilized here in a uniquely Japanese interpretation known as hakubyo, where pale additions of color enhance the abstract patterns of black created, for example, by the flat areas of black ink defining the women's hair and the screens and fences of the buildings. The overall impression is one of refined detail and patterned abstraction in line.
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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
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