狩野松栄筆 四季花鳥図|Pheasants among Trees: Flowers of the Four Seasons

Kano Shōei

probably 1560s · Pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, and gold on paper · Asian Art

Paired pheasants—symbols of imperial elegance—pose amid foliage representing all four seasons. Dandelions and violets in the right scroll suggest spring while a summertime azalea blooms nearby. The left scroll features an autumnal loquat and drying reeds alongside winter’s red-berried spear flowers. The pheasants’ plumage is highlighted in gold, befitting birds popularly associated with the deity Amaterasu, putative ancestress of the imperial family. Given this symbolic connection, this diptych may have been commissioned for an aristocrat’s household in the capital city. A leading Kano-school artist, Shōei received commissions from the Kyoto court as well as from important temples and shrines. While many of his works rely on models established by his father, Motonobu (ca. 1476–1559), the diptych’s close-up composition anticipates large-scale Kano screen painting of the Momoyama period (1573–1615).

Artist

Kano Shōei

Date

probably 1560s

Medium

Pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, and gold on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015