Farmer Returning Home in Autumn
Here, Yosa Buson’s farmer playfully chastises a crow who has come to dine on his grain while his water buffalo earnestly negotiates a swift stream. Raised in what is now Osaka, Buson went to Edo (now Tokyo) to study poetry composition. He later traveled around northeastern Japan, following in the footsteps of poet Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉) (1644–1694), and then taught poetry in Kyoto. He painted professionally, a skill he learned by using wood-block–printed Chinese painting manuals.
Colors in this work
Details
- Date
- 1781
- Dimensions
- overall: height 2.032 m, width 0.592 m; painting only: height 1.308 m, width 0.462 m
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- John L. Severance Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
-
Landscapes and Waterscapes Visual · 99%
The composition depicts mountainous terrain, rocky banks, trees, atmospheric distance, and a winding stream.
-
Rural Life Both · 98%
The scene centers on a farmer, a water buffalo, a cartload of grain, and a rural path or bridge; the catalog describes the farmer, grain, and buffalo in a rural setting.
-
Animals Both · 99%
A water buffalo and a crow are visible in the image, and both are identified in the catalog description.
-
Human Figure Both · 99%
A single male farmer is visible on the path, while the catalog lists the subject as male.
-
Narrative Both · 96%
The farmer’s encounter with the crow forms a clearly legible incident within the landscape; the catalog specifically describes him playfully chastising the bird.
Visual Qualities
-
Earth Tones Visual · 93%
Muted browns, grays, and subdued greens and blues dominate the visible palette.
-
Asymmetrical Visual · 92%
The composition is arranged asymmetrically around irregular tree trunks, the winding stream, and dispersed figures and objects.
Medium and Techniques
-
Painting Both · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work as a painting, and the image visibly presents a painted composition.
-
Hanging Scroll Both · 99%
The work is visibly presented in a vertical hanging-scroll format, and the catalog identifies the medium as a hanging scroll with ink and light color on silk.
-
East Asian Ink-and-Wash Painting Both · 99%
Ink line, diluted washes, and restrained color define the landscape; the catalog specifies ink and light color on silk.
Time Periods
-
18th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to 1781, within the eighteenth century.
Geographic Regions
-
Japanese Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies the artist as Japanese and the place of origin as Japan during the Edo period.
Source & rights
Yosa Buson (Japanese, 1716–1783). Farmer Returning Home in Autumn. Cleveland Museum of Art.
High-resolution sources
- Original TIFF ↗ 4,401 × 12,031 · Cleveland Museum Of Art · Available