Beneath the Willow (after 1778): Art, History and Details

Beneath the Willow (after 1778) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Tsukioka Sessai (Japanese, d. 1839).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Two young women cool themselves by a river as a willow blows in the breeze. One crouches down to rinse a hand towel, while the other sits with her chin balanced on her fan. Beside her is a black lacquer tray with a floral design in gold, holding her tobacco kit. Tsukioka Tessai was an Osaka-based ukiyo-e artist who was especially respected for his representations of beautiful women (bijin). The court bestowed upon him the rank Bridge of the Law (hokyo) in 1778, and he was eventually elevated in rank to Eye of the Law (hogen).

Object facts

• Title: Beneath the Willow
• Date: after 1778
• Creator attribution: Tsukioka Sessai (Japanese, d. 1839)
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 94 x 33.2 cm (37 x 13 1/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1985.273

A detail from the museum

The willow tree may refer to the contemporary Edo fashion for elongated "willowy" beauties.

Collection credit

The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.