painting, screen
- Kanō Motonobu 狩野元信, 1476-1559
Kano school artist
Chinese Sages in Landscape
1500s‒1600s
Japan
Ink on paper
Gift of John and Celeste Fleming
1977.161.2
The Japanese Kano school artist who painted this screen followed the Chinese literati style of depicting idealized scenes inspired by historic poems or legends. It is one of a set of screen originally mounted as four sliding door panels that were once part of a larger composition that surrounded the interior of a large room. On this screen, three standing figures examine a calligraphy scroll. On a paired screen also held in the Denver Art Museum's collection three Chinese sages sit around a go board. Although the representations on the other panels from the room are unknown, they most likely included gentlemen engaged with music and painting, completing the popular theme of the Four Accomplishments―music, go, calligraphy, and painting.