瓜に鼠図|Rats and Gourd
The Met
Artist: Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎(Japanese, 1831–1889)
Date: ca. 1887
Department: Asian Art
Classification: Paintings
Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. (36.2 x 27.6 cm)
Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Visual Descriptions
AI GeneratedVisual Summary
Brief Description
A bird flies above two rodents near a split fruit and tall grasses, ink drawing
Detailed Description
The artwork is a monochrome ink painting depicting a natural scene with animals and plants. In the upper portion, a bird with light plumage on its underside and darker wings is shown in flight, descending towards the left. Above and to the right of the bird, a vine with large, dark leaves and two prominent white, five-petaled flowers extends across the upper right quadrant. The vine also features thorny tendrils. In the central foreground, two small, furry rodents are featured. One rodent, with dark grey-brown fur and a lighter belly, sits upright on top of a large, round, split fruit, facing forward with its paws held close to its chest. The other rodent is partially visible inside the split fruit, appearing to gnaw on the light-colored, textured interior. The fruit itself is dark-toned, possibly a gourd or melon, with a distinct opening revealing its contents. Tall, thin blades of grass are depicted throughout the composition, creating a dense ground cover in both the foreground and background. The background also features lighter washes of ink, which appear to form a distant, indistinct landscape or body of water. In the lower left corner, dark ink calligraphy is present, accompanied by a red square seal.
Generated by gemini-2.5-flash
