Artwork Page for Crossing at Sano

Details / Information for Crossing at Sano

Crossing at Sano

佐野の渡り図衝立

c. 1600–1640

studio of Tawaraya Sōtatsu 俵屋宗達

(Japanese, c. 1570–c. 1640)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
Hanging scroll mounted as a single-panel screen; ink, color, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 161.7 x 139.2 x 46.3 cm (63 11/16 x 54 13/16 x 18 1/4 in.); Diameter of base: 46.3 cm (18 1/4 in.); Painting only: 125.9 x 121.4 cm (49 9/16 x 47 13/16 in.); with frame: 151.9 x 130.1 x 3.2 cm (59 13/16 x 51 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1949.554
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Like many paintings from the Sōtatsu studio, a Kyoto-based atelier that ran the shop Tawaraya, this one is done in ink, mineral colors, and gold, and is formally reminiscent of 12th- and 13th-century paintings associated with the Japanese aristocracy. It depicts a man on horseback with two attendants crossing a bridge that once spanned the Kino River in Sano in eastern Wakayama Prefecture. The composition was inspired by a poem by Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241) that translates as follows:

I stop my horse, but there is no shelter
as I brush off my sleeves
at Sano Crossing
in the evening snow.
An ink and color painting depicts three figures with light skin tones moving toward our left against a gold-flecked, tan background. Centered, a man in a tall black hat and white robe rides a dappled gray horse, looking downward. Behind him to our right, two people follow on foot: one in a wide, rounded hat and another wearing a white robe and black hat. Shimmering gold flecks ornament the entire composition.

Crossing at Sano

c. 1600–1640

Tawaraya Sōtatsu

(Japanese, c. 1570–c. 1640)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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