About this work

Papers with Japanese text hang from a tree bearing red and gold leaves.

Description from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Tosa Mitsuoki painted this in about 1675, aged about 53. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

How it was made

Gold ground: Gold leaf laid over a red clay and burnished to a mirror shine, often tooled with punches so it flickers in candlelight. Behind sacred figures it stands for heavenly light.
Folding screen: Panels joined by paper hinges, so the screen stands by itself in a zigzag. The picture runs across every panel, and screens were often made in pairs.
Ink and colour on silk: Silk was sized with glue and alum so it would hold a crisp brushline, and mineral colours were built up in thin layers. The sheen of the weave still shows through.

Tosa Mitsuoki

Japanese, 1617–1691

See all 2 works by Tosa Mitsuoki

Rights and the museum’s record

Public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.

Object number: 1977.157
Credit: Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Type: Painting
Department: Arts of Asia
Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal
Museum record: See it on the museum’s site

Report this work