Object Image

Shell of the Locust from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji

This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the Tale of Genji, authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794-1185) court. The scenes are painted in the "white drawing" (hakubyō) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character's lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters "Thin Veil of Cloud" (Usugumo) and "Barrier Gate" (Sekiya).

Credit: Gift of Vera Sterne in memory of her husband, Maurice Sterne...

1600s
Painting in an accordion-style album; ink, light color, and gold on paper
17.0 x 20.6cm
1961.202.b
Image and text: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023

Where you'll find this

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Permanent collection