狩野松栄筆 梅鵯図|Brown-Eared Bulbul (Hiyodori) on a Branch of Plum

Kano Shōei

mid- to late 16th century · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

A bird identifiable as a brown-eared bulbul, known in Japanese as hiyodori, perches on a gnarled branch of plum that has just burst into bloom with the arrival of spring. Kano Shōei and other artists of the early Kano school were admired for their highly polished bird-and-flower paintings, executed both in monochrome and in color, in a style deeply informed by imported Chinese pictures and earlier Japanese Zen painting.

Artist

Kano Shōei

Date

mid- to late 16th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fishbein-Bender Collection, Gift of T. Richard Fishbein and Estelle P. Bender, 2013