列子御風図扇面 (Resshi gyofū zu senmen)|The Daoist Immortal Liezi Flying on a Cloud

Kano Yukinobu 狩野之信

16th century · Fan-shaped painting mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Liezi (Japanese: Resshi) was a legendary Daoist sage who rejected all worldly ties and flew away with the wind. Here, he disappears from the eyes of onlookers into the darkened sky. Fan paintings were a common means by which Kano-school painters shared their knowledge of Chinese styles of the Song and Yuan dynasties. A faint seal links this to Kano Yukinobu, younger brother of the school’s second-generation leader, Motonobu (1477–1559).

Artist

Kano Yukinobu 狩野之信

Date

16th century

Medium

Fan-shaped painting mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914