Summer and Winter Landscapes (one of a pair)

1600s

Kano Naonobu 狩野尚信

(Japanese, 1607–1650)

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Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

six-panel folding screen; ink on gold- and silver-decorated paper

Measurements

Framed: 170 x 354 x 58.7 cm (66 15/16 x 139 3/8 x 23 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift from the Collection of George Gund III 2015.481.1

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Location

Not on view

Description

This sparse composition depicts a summer scene on the right and a winter scene on the left. Careful observation reveals that the pair of screens was once damaged, and a later conservation including new sections of paper and inpainting sought to preserve the original flavor of the paintings so they could continue to be appreciated. Kano Naonobu was born in Kyoto, the younger brother of major painter and authenticator Kano Tan’yū (1602–1674). He relocated to Edo (present-day Tokyo) at the behest of the Tokugawa government in 1630 where he worked with his brother and teacher. In Kyoto, he helped his brother with paintings for Nijō Castle and the major Pure Land Buddhist temple Chion’in.