Artwork
Travels through Mountains and Fields
Travels through Mountains and Fields is an unspecified painting by the Nanga artist Yosa Buson. It dates from 1765 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
Created in 1765 in Japan, the painting was produced by Yosa Buson and entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view.
Created in 1765 in Japan, the painting was produced by Yosa Buson and entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view.
The work was commissioned as a landscape depiction reflecting Buson's poetic sensibility, and its execution was completed in the mid-Edo period.
The painting has been part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's holdings since its acquisition, forming part of the museum's distinguished collection of Japanese art.
Travels through Mountains and Fields, painted by Yosa Buson in 1765, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is associated with that institution as both its collection and location.
No specific inventory or accession number, and no exhibition history, is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Yosa Buson’s 1765 painting Travels through Mountains and Fields is a six‑panel landscape now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work presents a quiet, expansive view of hills, distant peaks and a modest village, rendered in a restrained palette of browns, greens and grays that emphasizes atmosphere over detail.
Subject & Meaning
The composition invites contemplation of a journey through a rural setting, with foreground trees reaching skyward, a meandering stream threading through the settlement, and mist‑cloaked mountains receding into the distance. The tranquil mood suggests a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature, a common theme in Edo‑period Japanese painting.
Technique & Style
Buson employs a multi‑panel format to divide the scene into successive vistas, using delicate brushwork to suggest foliage and rock forms. The muted tonal range and subtle gradations of ink and wash create depth, while the misty treatment of the background mountains enhances the sense of atmospheric perspective characteristic of the literati tradition.
Artist & collection
