Cranes

late 1780s

Not on view

This striking diptych of hanging scrolls depicts three Japanese red-crowned cranes (tanchōzuru), with no further landscape setting. With the exception of the signature patch of crimson skin on the crown of the head—painted in brilliant red and adding a vivifying touch—the cranes are rendered entirely in ink. Their poses vary, their bodies delineated through a combination of bold outlining, unpainted space, and gray wash. Nagasawa Rosetsu’s steady hand with the brush is clear, notably in the birds’ sticklike legs, juxtaposed with the ink washes at the ends of their dark feathers. The feet are also carefully placed, as Rosetsu’s mentor Maruyama Ōkyo was known to do in his own paintings of birds. The overall effect is one of surprise and humor, as if we happened upon the birds and caught them posing for the artist—or for us.

Artwork Details

鶴図
Title: Cranes
Artist: Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪 (Japanese, 1754–1799)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: late 1780s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Pair of hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image (each scroll): 61 7/16 x 35 7/8 in. (156 x 91.2 cm)
Overall with mounting (each scroll): 84 x 36 3/4 in. (213.4 x 93.3 cm)
Overall with knobs (each scroll): 84 x 39 1/4 in. (213.4 x 99.7 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Fishbein-Bender Collection, Gift of T. Richard Fishbein and Estelle P. Bender, 2011
Object Number: 2011.572.2a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Rooster, Hen, and Chicks, Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪 Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan — Rooster, Hen, and Chicks
Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪
Calligrapher Minagawa Kien　皆川淇園
late 1780s

Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese — Helmet (*Zukinnari Kabuto*)
Japanese
16th century

Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, Ni Zan Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China — Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
Ni Zan
dated 1372

Puppies in the Snow, Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪 Japanese, Set of four sliding panels mounted as a pair of two-panel screens; ink and color on paper, Japan — Puppies in the Snow
Nagasawa Rosetsu 長澤蘆雪
1792–99

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

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.