Sketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a Rock

Sketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a Rock

Kano Tan'yū

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this large vertical composition, Tan'yū depicted the famous Northern Song calligrapher Mi Fu (1051–1107) writing a poem on a rock surface at a celebrated literati party known as the Elegant Gathering at the Western Garden. This panel also bears Tan'yū's title, mention of his age (sixty-five), and a painted seal reading Seimei. Most of Tan'yū's shukuzu lack the fully realized signatures seen on this panel and its companion. These drawings may have been made not as shukuzu but rather as preliminary drawings for paintings.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a RockSketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a RockSketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a RockSketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a RockSketch for a Painting of Mi Fu Inscribing a Poem on a Rock

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.