painting, screen

painting, screen

Birth Date-Death Date: 1476-1559
Artist
Kanō Motonobu 狩野元信, 1476-1559
Country
Japan
Style/Tradition
Kano school
Object
painting, screen
Accession Number
1977.161.2
Credit Line
Gift of John and Celeste Fleming
Kanō Motonobu 狩野元信. painting, screen. Gift of John and Celeste Fleming. 1977.161.2.
Dimensions
overall height: 71 in, 180.34 cm; overall width: 202 1/8 in, 513.3975 cm; image height: 63 3/8 in, 160.9725 cm; image width: 194 7/8 in, 494.9825 cm
Department
Arts of Asia
Collection
Arts of Asia

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.