Collection Online as of September 25, 2023

Birds and Flowers

花鳥図屏風

late 1500s

Part of a set. See all set records

attributed to Kano Shōei 狩野松栄

(Japanese, 1519–1592)

Japan, Momoyama period

(1573-1615)

One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper

Image: 155.9 x 339.4 cm (61 3/8 x 133 5/8 in.); Overall: 168.5 x 352.2 cm (66 5/16 x 138 11/16 in.); Closed: 172.5 x 61 x 11.3 cm (67 15/16 x 24 x 4 7/16 in.); with frame: 171.7 x 355.4 cm (67 5/8 x 139 15/16 in.)

Gift of William G. Mather 1948.128.1

Location

235A Japanese

Fun Fact

Military class patrons frequently requested scenes depicting predation, such as hunting scenes that were inserted as additional subject matter in otherwise tranquil vistas celebrating flora and fauna.

Description

The landscape depicted in this pair of screens follows a seasonal progression from right to left, starting with the blossoming plum of early spring and ending with late autumn peonies. A variety of smaller birds are positioned throughout the scene, and a trio of swimming ducks is bracketed by early summer irises and early autumn bellflowers at the center. While some raptors (birds of prey) terrorize a pheasant and an egret (a waterfowl) to the right, a peacock and peahen converse to the left. Hawks are associated with military prowess, while the peafowl suggest cultural prestige.

Provenance

?–1948

William G. Mather [1857–1951], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1948-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Chiba-shi Bijutsukan. Shugyoku no Nihon bijutsu: Hosomi korekushon no zenbō to Bosuton, Kurīburando, Sakkurā no wadaisaku : kaikan isshūnen kinen. Chiba-shi: Chiba-shi Bijutsukan, 1996. Reproduced: cat. no. 81, p. 98

Cleveland Museum of Art. Tōyō kaiga no seika: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara : tokubetsuten. 1998. Reproduced: pp. 120-122, cat. no. 80

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Michael R. Cunningham. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: pp.18-19

Admired from afar: masterworks of Japanese painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art [クリーブランド美術館展 : 名画でたどる日本の美 Kurīburando Bijutsukan ten: meiga de tadoru Nihon no bi ]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2014. Reproduced: cat. no. 29, pp. 90-91

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 121). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-July 13, 2004).

Autumn Grasses: Arts of the Momoyama Period (1573-1615). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4-December 11, 1988).

The Legacy of Japanese Art. Chiba City Museum of Art (organizer) (October 1-November 10, 1996).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).

Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).

Animals in Japanese Art (Japanese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-December 10, 2023).