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The Tale of Genji

A work made of pair of six-panel screens; ink, colors, and gold on paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of pair of six-panel screens; ink, colors, and gold on paper.

Date:

Early 17th century

Artist:

Artist Unknown
Japanese

About this artwork

This pair of folding screens depicts a few scenes from The Tale of Genji, a long novel written in the 11th century by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu. Even though they take place at different times in the story, the selected episodes are set in one continuous landscape. On the far right, the baby Genji is presented to his father, the emperor, for the first time. Across the bottom of the left screen, court ladies argue about which season is the most beautiful. Above, in the upper left corner, Genji and his love, Lady Murasaki, share an intimate moment in front of a charcoal brazier. The painter may have chosen these scenes fo their felicitous overtones. The overall character of the screens suggests that they were intended to be part of a bride’s wedding trousseau, which would accompany her to her new home.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

The Tale of Genji

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1599–1699

Medium

Pair of six-panel screens; ink, colors, and gold on paper

Dimensions

Each: 166 × 371 cm (65 3/8 × 146 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Robert Allerton in honor of Mr. & Mrs. William McCormick Blair's fiftieth wedding anniversary

Reference Number

1962.574

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/20198/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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