Portrait of Botanka Shōhaku

Maruyama Ōkyo 円山応挙

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Botanka Shōhaku (1443–1527) was a medieval priest and waka poet. Here the learned man holds a fan painted with a Chinese-style landscape; a closed book lies at his feet. The artist, Maruyama Ōkyo, is renowned today as the founder of the Maruyama school of painting. Although the work is a copy of an earlier painting, Ōkyo’s delineation of the face nonetheless reflects a concern with the realistic portrayal of human figures.

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