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Madrazo reached the pinnacle of his success at the 1878 Exposition Universelle, where he was proclaimed the successor to his brother-in-law Mariano Fortuny as the foremost contemporary Spanish painter. In this work, he displays his dramatic sense of color, mastery of atmospheric effects, and technical skill.
This painting explores the inequalities of modern life; the population of 19th-century European cities ballooned as rural workers migrated to urban environments looking for employment. The artist highlights the social and economic disparities that resulted. As wealthy, fashionably dressed women leave a church, they pass numerous men and women seated on its steps who have no source of income and are asking them for money.
H: 25 3/16 x W: 39 3/8 in. (64 x 100.01 cm)
Framed H: : 37 13/16 × W: 51 15/16 × D: 4 15/16 in. (96 × 132 × 12.5 cm)
medium: oil on canvas
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
The seals appended to the inscription on this painting suggest that the text was brushed by Yūjō (1723–1773), an imperial prince who became a Buddhist monk and was abbot of Enman'in at Miidera. The line is from a poem attributed to a Yuan dynasty poet, Yu Ruyu (dates unknown), and describes the sound of a fierce wind lashing the ground. Wind is associated with the roar of the tiger. Yūjō was Maruyama Ōkyo's most important patron as a young artist, and this painting has a signature asserting that Ōkyo created it in 1772, the year before Yūjō's death. While Yūjō produced a preface for a now famous set of handscrolls he commissioned Ōkyo to paint, and a number of Ōkyo's compositions for Enman'in survive, this work would appear to be one imagining their relationship, as opposed to a genuine piece.
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) to Meiji period (1868–1912)
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Painting: 134.6 x 58 cm (53 x 22 13/16 in.); Mounted: 194 x 73 cm (76 3/8 x 28 3/4 in.)
Sundry Purchase Fund
The proportions and balance of this pistol, including the "fishtail" butt curving around the hand, are visually pleasing and also make this 3 lb. 5.3 oz. gun easier to handle. The relative crudeness of the manufacture, including the inlaid decoration taken from a pattern book, indicates that the pistol was made for a cavalryman as opposed to an aristocratic officer. There are two marks stamped on the pistol: the maker's mark, which, although found on other guns, has not been identified; and the control mark on the barrel, indicating that it has been inspected for quality in Nuremberg.
L: 22 7/16 in. (57 cm)
medium: steel or iron, wood (walnut), bone or antler and engraved mother-of-pearl inlay; parts replaced
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Guanyin is a bodhisattva, a divine being who has attained enlightenment but chooses to stay in the world to help others. Guanyin (an abbreviation of Guanshiyin: “Perceiver of the World’s Sounds”) responds to the calls of those in peril.
Here, Guanyin sits in an attitude of tranquil ease, an arm resting on one knee while gazing at the moon’s reflection in the water below; the bodhisattva’s rippling garments puddle downward in a seemingly liquid cascade. In China, devotion to Guanyin, who came to be represented as an androgynous or female being, was popularized through sacred texts ("sutras"), miracle tales, and legends by which the deity became associated with natural elements, such as water and the moon, that evoke themes of impermanence and change.
The sculpture is a technical marvel. The entire figure, down to the slender fingers, is hollow and made in a technique similar to papier-mâché. Layers of cloth soaked in lacquer, derived from a tree resin, were wrapped over an internal clay support that was removed after the lacquer had hardened. X-radiography shows that the hollow interior was covered in a pigment containing red mercury, called cinnabar, that may have had both sacred and preservative functions.
Chinese
H: 50 x W: 34 1/4 x D: 22 5/8 in. (127 x 87 x 57.5 cm)
medium: dry lacquer, gold, and paint
culture: Chinese
dynasty: Ming [Ming] Dynasty
given to Walters Art Museum, 2006.
This handscroll features a map illustrating the <em>Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers</em> (<em>Jing qing Wei zhuo tu</em>) and a report by the statesman Dong Gao (1704–1818), preceded by an imperial commentary. The entire handscroll is woven in silk; while the calligraphy section on the right side is woven into the fabric, the Chinese characters on the map are all embroidered. The map shows the clear (blue) river Jing in the north joining the muddy (yellow) river Wei in the west and flowing into the large Yellow River in the northeast. The roofs of houses and sections of the city wall in the lower part of the map indicate the city of Xi’an, a former imperial capital in Shaanxi province located near the site where the terracotta soldiers of China’s first emperor were found in modern times.<br><br>The management and control of the empire’s vast network of waterways, dams, and irrigation systems was an important task for China’s rulers. Flood prevention was essential, for when the Yellow River overflowed it caused disastrous deluges and destroyed farmland and settlements. Here the Qianlong emperor had requested an on-site investigation of the Jing and Wei rivers in order to rectify historic written sources that confused the Jing and Wei rivers.<br><br>In addition to the Cleveland tapestry scroll, an identical tapestry version is preserved in the Palace Museum in Taipei and a rubbing version on paper is preserved in the National Library in Beijing.
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Handscroll, silk: tapestry weave; ink and colors; silk: embroidery
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Known as a <em>situla</em>, or bucket, this bronze vessel features an ovoid body with a flaring neck. The separately made foot is quite elaborate and unusually shaped for this type of vessel. More typical is the handle, designed to swing upward from its two attachments, each finely cast in the form of a frontal siren with earrings and very small, simplified wings.
Etruscan
bronze
without handle: 16.6 cm (6 9/16 in.)
Did you know...
The handle includes a loop with attached chain, perhaps meant for hanging.
John L. Severance Fund
King Siddhartha is depicted on this page with his wife, Trishala, who had a series of auspicious dreams associated with her pregnancy. Her child Mahavira would grow up to become the historical founder of the Jain religion in the 500s BC. The royal couple is resplendently enthroned and bedecked in jewelry. Queen Trishala’s bodice was painted with a green pigment made from copper and vinegar; its high acid content caused the paper itself to disintegrate. The lavish use of gold and lapis lazuli indicates that it was a costly production.
Western India, Gujarat, last quarter of the 15th century
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 12.5 x 25.7 cm (4 15/16 x 10 1/8 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund