Artwork Page for Wild Geese

Details / Information for Wild Geese

Wild Geese

late 1500s-early 1600s

Kano Sanraku 狩野山楽

(Japanese, 1559–1635)
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Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
pair of six-fold screens; ink on paper
Measurements
Overall: 170.2 x 371.8 cm (67 x 146 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1987.9
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Depictions of geese usually appear as ink paintings in Japan during the 1200s. They later show up in the colorful landscapes of illustrated handscrolls. Such early ink renditions of the birds have long been associated with classical Chinese Zen painting and poetry, which was avidly admired and collected in medieval Japan. In these screens the artist portrayed the waterfowl in a pastoral setting without reference to classical or religious themes. Such ordinary subjects were imbued with special meaning in 14th- and 15th-century Japan through associations with continental culture, Zen thought and poetry, and famous Chinese monk-painters whose painting techniques had become revered as visual emblems of Zen principles. The screens here reflect the continuation of that painting tradition in the late 1500s or early 1600s by the head of the most important studio in Kyoto. Sanraku also executed a number of colorful folding screen compositions, but here he pays homage to the style of early Zen painting.
Two horizontal sixfold screens depict geese in black ink on tan paper framed by floral borders. In the top screen, five geese gather on a rocky bank at our right near gnarled trees. Small birds fly over reeds at our left. In the bottom screen, a willow arches left over resting and swimming geese. At our right, more geese fly through an open sky. Fine lines and expressive washes define the landscape.

Wild Geese

late 1500s-early 1600s

Kano Sanraku

(Japanese, 1559–1635)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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