Daibutsu and Scaffolding, by Migita Toshihide, 1895, Meiji 27, from the Hood Museum of Art - PR.995.23.9ab.

Daibutsu and Scaffolding

Migita Toshihide

Daibutsu and Scaffolding, by Migita Toshihide, 1895, Meiji 27, from the Hood Museum of Art - PR.995.23.9ab.

Colors in this work

Details

Date
1895
Holding institution
Hood Museum of Art
Image provider
wikimedia-commons
License
Public domain
Credit
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

Art Genome Taxonomy

11 tags

Subject Matter

  • The title names a Daibutsu, and the image clearly shows a monumental Buddha figure occupying the right side of the composition.

  • Work and Workers Interpretive · 80%

    Several figures are shown climbing, balancing on, and handling the scaffold; their precise occupational roles are not specified by the catalog.

  • Movement Visual · 96%

    The varied climbing, reaching, crouching, and balancing poses create a pronounced sense of physical activity across the scaffold.

  • Narrative Both · 88%

    The image presents an event-like scene involving a monumental religious figure, a scaffold, and multiple active figures; the title reinforces this narrative reading.

Visual Qualities

  • Dense Composition Visual · 98%

    Numerous overlapping poles, horizontal braces, vertical supports, and rope lashings form a densely articulated structure, especially across the right half of the image.

  • Linear Forms Visual · 97%

    The scaffold is defined by a conspicuous network of straight poles and repeated diagonal, horizontal, and vertical lines.

  • Patterns Visual · 95%

    Repeated ornamental motifs appear in the dark border, while the figures’ garments contain strong recurring patterns and graphic shapes.

Medium and Techniques

  • Woodcut and Linocut Metadata · 99%

    The catalog identifies the object as a Japanese woodblock print, supporting its classification as a woodcut-based print.

Time Periods

  • 19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The work is dated 1895, placing it within nineteenth-century art.

Geographic Regions

  • Japanese Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog identifies the work as a Japanese woodblock print by Migita Toshihide.

Cultural and Religious Styles

  • The Daibutsu title and recognizable Buddha imagery support a Buddhist subject, although no specific temple, sect, or ritual context is identified.

Source & rights

Migita Toshihide. Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

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