The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Scene from the Tale of the Wisteria Robe

Scene from the Tale of the Wisteria Robe

1400s
(1392–1573)
section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
Image: 16.2 x 33 cm (6 3/8 x 13 in.); Overall: 105.4 x 57.2 cm (41 1/2 x 22 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1985.132
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Members of the court, both male and female, are depicted in dress and hairstyles from the earlier Heian period (794–1185).

Description

The Tale of the Wisteria Robe chronicles the family saga and spiritual wanderings of a noble whose garment has a signature scent. In the complete set of two scrolls, the paintings were preceded by textual passages and included dialogue floating over the characters depicted. This fragment of the story shows several figures engaged in private conversations held in chambers divided by sliding doors. Numerical notations in the text indicate the order in which things are being said.
  • ?–1985
    (Yoshiyuki Hosomi, Osaka, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: p.101, cat. no. 67
    Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing. Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 54
    Admired from afar: masterworks of Japanese painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art [クリーブランド美術館展: 名画でたどる日本の美Kurīburando Bijutsukan ten: meiga de tadoru Nihon no bi ]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2014. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 10, p. 45
  • Stories in Japanese Art (Japanese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 8, 2021-April 3, 2022).
    Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 121). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 18-October 26, 2003).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Scene from the Tale of the Wisteria Robe|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.132