Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Landscape in Moonlight

Kano Tan'yū Japanese
after 1662
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 225
Tan’yū’s ink landscape paintings demonstrate his characteristic light, supple, and highly refined brushwork. Here, the artist reinterpreted motifs from the traditional Chinese theme Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. His subtle techniques evoke mist, rain, and atmospheric effects. Mountains illuminated by moonlight emerge from the drifting white clouds. The dark ink elements elegantly counterbalance the foggy void.

While the scenery derives from Chinese models, Tan’yū transformed these conventions into a distinctly Japanese mode of expression. All three scrolls bear the signature “Hōin Tan’yū,” indicating that they were painted after 1662, when the artist was granted the prestigious Buddhist title Hōin at the age of sixty-one.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 狩野探幽筆　月夜山水図
  • Title: Landscape in Moonlight
  • Artist: Kano Tan'yū (Japanese, 1602–1674)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: after 1662
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: One of a triptych of hanging scrolls; ink on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 39 5/8 x 16 3/4 in. (100.6 x 42.5 cm)
    Overall: 75 1/4 x 23 1/2 in. (191.1 x 59.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.50
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Landscape in Moonlight, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, One of a triptych of hanging scrolls; ink on silk, Japan
Landscape in Moonlight
Kano Tan'yū
after 1662
Landscape in Moonlight, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, One of a triptych of hanging scrolls; ink on silk, Japan
Landscape in Moonlight
Kano Tan'yū
after 1662
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
Saddle (Kura) with Stylized Flowers, Saddle: Gold maki-e with black lacquer decoration:<br/>Pommel: lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e on black ground; seat: nashiji (“pear-skin” ground), Japan
Saddle (Kura) with Stylized Flowers
Japan
Saddle: Muromachi period (1392–1573), dated 1491 (Entoku 3); lacquer decoration: Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.