Beauty with Firefliesearly 1800s · Study 2015.85

Context from the museum

A young woman has passed beneath an aged willow tree as she strolls along a riverbank carrying a cage full of fireflies. The painting is a copy after Kubo Shunman, best known as a composer of witty verses in 31-syllables ( kyōka ) and designer of limited edition prints called surimono . Shunman was active during the mature era of ukiyo-e production, and his more formal paintings most often took as their subjects beautiful Chinese or Japanese women. Here, his imitator commemorates one of summer's most delightful evening pastimes, the observation of the flickering lights of the firefly. The woman is presented in a ubiquitous summer setting, a refreshingly cool and breezy riverbank in earshot of rustling willow leaves.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting measurement for Beauty with Fireflies is 33.2 cm wide and 95.6 cm high, equivalent to approximately 13.1 × 37.6 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.35:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.32 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 11.1% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 133.4 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Beauty with Fireflies in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk (ivory roller ends), in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 33.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?