The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Scenes from Essays in Idleness
late 1700s–early 1800s
(Japanese, 1752–1811)
Image: 146.5 x 330.7 cm (57 11/16 x 130 3/16 in.); Overall: 170.2 x 375.8 cm (67 x 147 15/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Matsumura Goshun inscribed passages from Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenkō’s (1283–1350) well-known collection of anecdotes, Essays in Idleness, across the top of the panels of this screen and its pair. Goshun illustrated the narratives with his vision of the figures who feature in them. The texts cascade down from right to left, forming unique compositional relationships with the images below. The episodes offer a veritable portrait of human idiosyncrasy, from one man’s deep faith in radishes to another’s inability to avoid nicknames.- ?-1971(Mathias Komor [1909-1984], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1971-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 60–61, cat. no. 27Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. 29b
- Stories in Japanese Art (Japanese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 8, 2021-April 3, 2022).Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).
- {{cite web|title=Scenes from Essays in Idleness|url=false|author=Matsumura Goshun|year=late 1700s–early 1800s|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.43.2