Carp Ascending a Waterfall

Keisai Eisenearly or mid-1830s

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

In Asian lore the carp is associated with good fortune and perseverance. Although the carp lives primarily in quiet waters, its symbolic meanings have led to a Japanese design convention of showing the fish arching upward, often mounting waterfalls, as in this print.

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Details

Title: Carp Ascending a Waterfall
Creator: Keisai Eisen (Japanese, 1790-1848)
Date Created: early or mid-1830s
Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 72.4 x 24.2 cm (28 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.)
Provenance: James Parmelee [1855-1931], Washington, DC, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Type: Print
Rights: CC0
External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.1049
Medium: color woodblock print
Inscriptions: Signature: Keisai hitsu. Seal: Eisen. Publisher: Izumiya Ichibei (Kansendo)
Department: Japanese Art
Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
Credit Line: Bequest of James Parmelee
Collection: Japanese Art
Accession Number: 1940.1049

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