狩野常信筆　四愛図 |Four Admirers

Kano Tsunenobu

late 17th–early 18th century · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk · Asian Art

One of the many pictorial subjects of Chinese origin adopted by the Kano school of painters, images of the Four Admirers portray beloved Chinese literary figures with the flower, and by extension the season, that each admired most. In this painting by Tsunenobu, a second-generation head of the Kano school’s Kobikichō branch in Edo (now Tokyo), the four literary heroes appear within a single pictorial space replete with seasonal, historical, and literary allusions. At far right is the poet Lin Hejing (967–1028), known for admiring plum blossoms at the hermitage he shared with pet cranes. Nearby is Tao Yuanming (365–427), who famously wrote of gathering chrysanthemums at his country estate in autumn. The scholar Zhou Maoshu (1017–1073) relaxes on a boat surrounded by lotuses. At far left, Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) sits on the riverbank with a potted orchid at his side.

Artist

Kano Tsunenobu

Date

late 17th–early 18th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975