Bamboo

Kaō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In China, the association of bamboo with resilience and fortitude made it a popular painting subject among literati and Chan (Zen) monks. According to tradition, this image of mist-shrouded bamboo was created by Kaō, a fourteenth-century monk who was among the earliest Japanese practitioners of Chinese-inspired monochrome ink painting. Despite the attribution, it is likely sixteenth century in date. Graded ink tonalities and delicate rendering of joints in the stalk indicate that the artist was well-trained in Chinese methods of ink painting.

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