Magpie on Viburnum Branch

Genga

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Framed by the blossoms of a viburnum, this magpie is depicted with great attention to detail, reflecting a taste for the idealized naturalism characteristic of the imperial painting academy of China’s Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Chinese paintings, treasured by Ashikaga shoguns of the fifteenth century, exerted a strong influence on Japanese artists of the Muromachi period, when Chinese culture also served as a model for the Zen priesthood and educated elite. Little is known about the artist, but a good number of academic-style bird-and-flower paintings feature his seal or have been attributed to his hand.

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