Children Playing in Summer and Winter

Children Playing in Summer and Winter

Maruyama Ōshin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of 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).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Children Playing in Summer and WinterChildren Playing in Summer and WinterChildren Playing in Summer and WinterChildren Playing in Summer and WinterChildren Playing in Summer and Winter

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.