Provenance
(Kozo Yabumoto, Hyogo, Japan, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith); The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–1985); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1985–)
Accession Number
1985.283
Medium
hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 158.8 x 62.2 cm (62 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.); Painting only: 77.2 x 40.7 cm (30 3/8 x 16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Gold Leaf Paper
Background & Context
Background Story
Scene from a Noh Play from the early 1700s depicts a scene from a Noh play in the elegantly composed manner of the Edo period painting tradition. Noh theater is one of the most important forms of Japanese performing arts, with a history dating back to the 14th century, and paintings depicting scenes from Noh plays represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Japanese painting. The early 1700s date places this in the Edo period, when paintings of Noh plays were being produced by some of the most accomplished painters of the Japanese tradition, and the elegantly composed treatment of the scene shows the continuity of the Noh theater painting tradition.
Cultural Impact
Scene from a Noh Play is important in the history of Japanese painting because it demonstrates the tradition of depicting scenes from Noh plays, one of the most important subjects in Japanese painting. Noh theater—dating back to the 14th century—is one of the most important forms of Japanese performing arts, and paintings depicting scenes from Noh plays represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Japanese painting. The early 1700s painting shows this tradition in the Edo period.
Why It Matters
Scene from a Noh Play is an anonymous Edo period painting: a scene from a Noh play rendered in the elegantly composed manner of the Japanese painting tradition. The early 1700s painting shows the tradition of depicting Noh plays—Japan's oldest major form of theater—that is one of the most important subjects in Japanese painting.
