円山応震筆　子供遊び図屏風|Children Playing in Summer and Winter

Maruyama Ōshin

early 19th century · Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper · Asian Art

Two groups of young children delight in the possibilities for adventure offered by a summer river and a winter snowfall. The boys of summer try their skill at ferrying one another about in a small boat, while the winter squad braves uneven footing to shepherd an ever-larger snowball across a sparkling white field. Inspired by a Chinese painting tradition of depicting imperial children at play in palace gardens, this pair of screens subverts and updates the genre with its sparse, graphic landscapes. The painter Ōshin was the third head of the Maruyama school, founded by Maruyama Ōkyō (1790–1838).

Artist

Maruyama Ōshin

Date

early 19th century

Medium

Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Gitter-Yelen Foundation, 2009