This composition of flowers shown in a seasonal progression from spring to winter, paired with an auspicious motif of cranes, promotes longevity. The brilliant colors, strong ink outlines, gold-leaf background, and profusion of pictorial elements are typical of the decorative formula established by Kano Motonobu (1476–1559), founder of the Kano school of painting, while the boldness is reminiscent of his grandson, the prolific Kano Eitoku (1543–1590). The exaggerated dimensions of the pine and cedar trees, the attempt to create space for projecting branches in the crowded composition, and the depiction of brushwood hedges in high relief suggest that the work dates to the late sixteenth century. In their elegant grandeur, these screens reflect the lavish taste that prevailed in the mansions and temples of the capital during the period.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
1987.342.1
1987.342.2
Detail, 1987.342.1, panels 1, 2 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.1, panels 3, 4 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.1, panels 5, 6 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.1
Detail, 1987.342.1
Detail, 1987.342.2, panels 1, 2 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.2, panels 3, 4 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.2, panels 5, 6 (from right)
Detail, 1987.342.2
Detail, 1987.342.2
Detail, 1987.342.2
Artwork Details
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四季花鳥図屏風
Title:Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
Period:Momoyama period (1573–1615)
Date:late 16th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions:Image: 63 1/4 in. × 11 ft. 10 in. (160.7 × 360.7 cm) Overall: 69 3/8 in. × 12 ft. 4 1/2 in. (176.2 × 377.2 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Purchase, Mrs. Jackson Burke and Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Gifts, 1987
Object Number:1987.342.1, .2
[ Tokyo Art Club , until sale "Works from the Collection of Former Daimyo and Other Private Collections", March 18, 1935, lot 79, to Yamanaka]; [ Yamanaka & Co. , Osaka, Japan; by 1939]; [ Heisandō Co., Ltd. , Tokyo, Japan; until 1987; sold to MMA]
Mary Griggs Burke. "Loan to Mrs. Jackson Burke," January 13, 1988–January 14, 1988.
Tokyo. Asahi Shinbun. "Screen Paintings of the Muromachi Period," March 28, 1989–May 7, 1989.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art (Part One)," October 12, 1995–April 28, 1996.
Kyoto National Museum. "The Kano School in the Muromachi Period," October 15, 1996–November 17, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Resonant Image: Tradition in Japanese Art (Part Two)," April 27–September 27, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Blossoms of Many Colors: A Selection from the Permanent Collection of Japanese Art," March 21–August 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Great Waves: Chinese Themes in the Arts of Korea and Japan I," March 1–September 21, 2003.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds, Flowers, and Buddhist Paradise Imagery in Japanese Art," February 14–June 13, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Sensitivity to the Seasons: Spring and Summer," December 17, 2005–June 4, 2006.
Kyoto National Museum. "Kanō Eitoku, Momoyama Painter Extraordinaire," October 16, 2007–November 18, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Animals, Birds, Insects, and Marine Life in Japanese Art," June 26–November 30, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds in the Art of Japan," February 2–July 28, 2013.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Ink and Gold: Art of the Kano," February 12, 2015–May 10, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Celebrating the Arts of Japan: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," October 20, 2015–May 14, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Kyoto: Capital of Artistic Imagination," July 24, 2019–January 31, 2021.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art," April 8, 2023–July 14, 2024.
Tokyo Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo 東京国立文化財研究所, ed. Nyūyōku Metoroporitan Bijutsukan, kaiga, chōkoku ニューヨークメトロポリタン美術館，絵画・彫刻 (Painting and sculpture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) Kaigai shozai Nihon bijutsuhin chōsa hōkoku 海外所在日本美術品調查報告 (Catalogue of Japanese art in foreign collections) 1. Tokyo: Kobunkazai Kagaku Kenkyūkai, 1991, p. 44, cat. no. 123.2.
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