# Autumn Maples with Poem Slips

**Tosa Mitsuoki** (Japanese, 1617–1691)  
c. 1675  
Six-panel screen (one of pair); Ink, colors, gold leaf, and gold powder on silk  
144 × 286 cm (56 3/4 × 112 5/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1977.157. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/127644).

## About this work

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

### What you’re looking at

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

_Description from 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](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/tosa-mitsuoki)

Japanese, 1617–1691

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Japan
- The artist was about 53
- Real size: about 57 × 113 in (144 × 286 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: trees, maple trees, autumn, fall, poetry, landscapes, gold (color), foliage
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/307.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/307/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/autumn-maples-with-poem-slips-aic-127644).