Artwork preview

The Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a Cloud

Kano Yukinobu 狩野之信

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a drawing of a man flying on a cloud. The man wears a long robe. He is positioned on the left, slightly to the center of the image. He appears to be floating on a cloud that starts from the bottom-left corner and curves upward to the right. The cloud has shading to give it a three-dimensional appearance. The man has one arm raised and the other lowered. His hair is long and unkempt. He faces right. Behind him, to his left, are two people sitting on a cliff or ground. One person is sitting cross-legged on the ground, while the other sits on a cliff, looking at the flying man. A tree branch extends from the top-left corner, partially obscuring the seated figures. The background of the drawing is a semi-circle with a darker shade at the top. The drawing is on a beige paper, surrounded by a border with a greenish-gray background and a gold floral pattern. There are two horizontal stripes with a black background and gold floral pattern above and below the drawing.

Artwork Details

Date
16th century
Medium
Fan-shaped painting mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
600 × 450 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette