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Collections

Kawanabe Kyōsai
Kyōsai's Treatise on Painting, volume 11887, July

Not on view
Japanese woodblock print book cover page with bold calligraphic title text in a circle, surrounded by a dragon, crane, clouds, and waves in fine black linework on cream paper
Woodblock-printed book page with a vertical column of Chinese seal script characters at center, and a faint dragon motif watermark visible in the left panel.
Woodblock-printed book page with bold ink brushwork depicting a dragon in sweeping, expressive strokes; vertical column of Japanese text at upper right.
Woodblock-printed page divided into four panels, each demonstrating a different brushstroke technique for rendering rock textures, with vertical columns of Chinese calligraphy labeling each method. Upper panels show bold, sweeping strokes; lower left shows fine parallel contour lines; lower right displays thick, heavily inked vertical strokes.
Engraved anatomical illustration with two plates: upper plate shows a young child viewed from behind alongside an écorché adult figure with arm raised, displaying musculature; lower plate shows a child skeleton from behind alongside a partial écorché figure, with fine ink linework throughout.
Woodblock print anatomical illustration in two registers: upper panel shows a front-facing male figure beside a skeleton torso; lower panel shows legs and hands in both skin and skeletal views, with Japanese text annotations in the upper right corners.
Printed anatomical illustration across two plates showing posterior views of a male figure alongside a human skeleton, with fine line draftsmanship; vertical columns of Japanese script at lower left.
Woodblock-printed double-page spread with light blue wash accents, depicting groups of deities and supernatural figures in flowing robes. Left page shows a cluster of divine figures above ritual vessels including a blue vase and shell; right page shows a robed figure seated on clouds above two kneeling figures, with vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy at upper right.
Japanese woodblock-printed book opening across two pages, densely filled with fantastical creatures and figures with flowing red-orange hair, rendered in fine black line with red and pale blue accents. Figures tumble and crowd across the composition with no clear ground plane; a pagoda and architectural structure appear at lower right. Vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy at upper right.
Japanese woodblock-printed book opening across two pages, depicting a procession of oni demons and mounted figures wielding spears and weapons; figures rendered in fine ink line work with selective hand-applied color in orange, blue, and gray; vertical columns of Japanese text at upper right.
Japanese woodblock-printed book spread depicting a crowded scene of oni demons and supernatural creatures, some mounted on horses or riding a wheeled carriage, others on foot wielding weapons and carrying objects, rendered in fine black ink line work on aged paper.
Japanese woodblock-printed book opening showing two pages densely filled with ink-line drawings of oni and supernatural creatures in dynamic, crowded procession; figures have horns, clawed limbs, and wild hair, some carrying staffs and banners, rendered in fine fluid lines on cream paper.
Woodblock print from a bound book, depicting a fierce-faced figure in flowing robes crouched on rocky ground, leaning forward with one arm raised toward a gnarled branch above; bold brushwork with strong ink contrasts; vertical columns of Japanese text and a seal at left.
Woodblock print of a seated luohan figure with wild hair and beard, draped in flowing robes, beside a large decorated vessel; columns of Chinese calligraphy at left and upper right.
Woodblock print of a seated bodhisattva figure with circular halo, draped in flowing robes, surrounded by a coiling dragon and swirling clouds; vertical column of Japanese text at upper right.
Japanese woodblock print in coral red, pale blue, and gray; a seated woman in layered robes looks up toward a standing bearded figure draped in voluminous red robes; vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy at upper right and left, with a red seal.
Japanese woodblock print with light color wash; a warrior figure with wild hair and beard grasps a woman in a pink and white kimono, who turns away; a crouching lion-dog figure appears at lower right; vertical columns of Japanese script at right.
Woodblock print with sparse color washes; foreground shows a curly-haired seated figure holding a stringed instrument, with a woman in patterned orange robes perched behind; smaller dancing female figure in upper left; vertical columns of Japanese script and a red seal at left.
Japanese woodblock print from a bound book: three figures in traditional robes — a bearded elder in a layered crown at left, a woman in pink and blue striped robes viewed from behind, and a young attendant holding a large round mirror reflecting the woman's face. Columns of Japanese calligraphy at upper left.
Printed page with vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy, two square seals with carved figural designs at left, and a faint ghosted image of a face in the background. English text at the bottom reads: 'I inspected the face of the styles of Hokusō, Kanō, and Nansō, and copied the whole picture, Kwanabe Kiosai.'
Woodblock print page from a painting manual, close-up portrait of a bald figure with flowing hair, wide grin, and robes rendered in fluid ink lines; vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy at right, with printed English text along the top margin.
Woodblock print, close-up bust of a figure with wild, windswept hair and a wide open-mouthed grin, wearing a loosely draped robe, rendered in bold black ink brushwork on pale paper.
Woodblock-printed book spread with six panels of figural studies in brush outline style: heads and busts of robed figures, a deity with ornate crown, a child, and a bearded man in close-up. Columns of Japanese calligraphy label each section; English captions along the margins identify different painting styles.
Woodblock-printed book spread with ink illustrations of male heads in various angles: a large bearded figure with bold brushwork on the right page, and two studies of heads—one in profile, one foreshortened from below—on the left, with vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy and English captions at top.
Woodblock-printed book spread with bold ink brushwork; left page depicts four figures including a fierce-faced deity, a serene bodhisattva with ornate headdress, and two smaller heads; right page shows a laughing figure with wild hair holding a staff, rendered in loose expressive strokes; vertical columns of Japanese text and English captions on both pages.
Woodblock-printed book page with eight portrait studies of human faces in varying styles — women with elaborate coiffures, bearded elderly men, and figures with exaggerated features. Vertical columns of Japanese text and romanized captions label each study. Fine ink line work throughout.
Woodblock-printed page with four head studies in black ink: a young man with topknot, an elderly bearded figure, a grimacing face with bold brushwork, and a woman with elaborate hair ornaments. Vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy at right; English captions at top and bottom margins.
Woodblock-printed book illustration in ink with light blue wash, two robed figures wading through stylized waves; a bearded figure in the foreground holds a staff, while a shaved-headed figure behind carries a round tray. Mountains visible in the lower background. Columns of Japanese text and English script at upper right.
Japanese woodblock-printed book spread with ink illustrations across two pages; left page shows two robed figures at a low table with a shamisen on the floor; right page depicts a bearded figure holding a fan and long pole above three crouching figures; Japanese calligraphy scattered throughout.
Japanese woodblock-printed book spread with hand-applied color; on the left, a long-bearded robed figure raises a fan overhead; on the right, a large supernatural figure with a human face emerging from its torso and swirling smoke or flames; vertical columns of hiragana and kanji annotations throughout, with a red seal at lower left.
Woodblock print illustration from a bound Japanese book; a standing haloed figure with radiating light looms above two robed figures hauling a fishing net from stylized waves, rendered in fine ink lines with pale blue wash; Japanese calligraphy at upper right.
Woodblock-printed bust portrait of a bearded figure with coiled hair, wearing layered robes with a patterned collar, surrounded by Japanese annotations in kana script and a Roman-script caption at upper right.
Woodblock-printed page from a Japanese painting manual, depicting a tiger's head and upper body among bamboo stalks, rendered in bold ink lines with hatching for striped fur; vertical column of Japanese calligraphy at upper right, with a handwritten English inscription along the top edge.
Artist or Maker
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Title
Kyōsai's Treatise on Painting, volume 1
Place Made
Japan
Date Made
1887, July
Medium
Color woodblock printed books; four volumes covered with a slip cover having woodblock printed illustration adhered to cloth
Dimensions
Volumes: 10 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 3/8 in. (26 x 14 x .95 cm); each cover open: 10 1/2 x 24 in. (26.7 x 61 cm)
Credit Line
Herbert R. Cole Collection
Accession Number
M.84.31.517.1
Classification
Books
Collecting Area
Japanese Art