Unknown Artist
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 20.6 cm
1961.202.b
Image and text: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023
Permanent collection