Hen and Rooster with Grapevine

Itō Jakuchū

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Barnyard fowl of every variety were among Jakuchū ’s favorite subjects. Here, the heroic rooster directs his piercing gaze upward while standing on one foot, lifting his flamboyant tail; a hen, waiting for him to crow, admires his gallant figure. Jakuchū , who devoted his entire life exclusively to painting, was known as one of the “Three Eccentrics” (san kijin) of eighteenth-century Kyoto. He and his fellow Eccentrics, Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754–1799) and Soga Shōhaku (1730–1781), were also known for their flamboyant social lives.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art