Young Woman with a Book 1734 - 1766

This hanging scroll, "Young Woman with a Book," was painted by Miyagawa Shunsui sometime in the mid-18th century. The artist used mineral pigments to create the polychromatic painting on silk. The silk material is central to understanding this painting. The artist’s ability to control the flow of the paint and ink on the absorbent silk determines the effect of the work. Note how the silk’s texture subtly emerges through the thin layers of color, creating an almost ethereal quality. The skilled labor that went into preparing the silk is also worth considering. We can also think about the labor of those who created the book. By focusing on these material aspects, we start to see the painting not just as a representation, but also as a product of various complex processes. Appreciating the materiality allows us to consider it as both a fine art object, and an artifact that is also deeply entwined with the social conditions of its creation.