Artwork preview

Books of Flowers and a Writing Brush

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a still life with a writing brush and two books of flowers. The writing brush has a black handle and a brown tip, lying horizontally across the bottom of the image. One book lies on top of the other, both are open. The top book is dark blue-green with a beige strip down the center; it has a repeating brown pattern. The bottom book has a light background with orange and green illustrations of a stem with leaves and a flower. The pages of both books have Japanese writing on them. The background is beige with darker beige and brown spots and Japanese writing.

Artwork Details

Date
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
569 × 625 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette