The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

The Four Accomplishments

late 1500s–early 1600s

attributed to Kano Shōei

(Japanese, 1519–1592)
Painting: 153 x 358.6 cm (60 1/4 x 141 3/16 in.); Mounted: 174 x 378.5 cm (68 1/2 x 149 in.)
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Although the painter captures his companion's attention, his young servant is having a nap.

Description

This is one of a pair of screens showing a group of elite Chinese gentlemen and their servants in the countryside. One man is considering his painting-in-progress. Historically, practicing or admiring painting was considered a skill essential for cultured men in China.
  • ?–1979
    (Kochukyo Co., Inc., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1979–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1979." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 67, no. 3 (1980): 58-99. Reproduced: cat. no. 119, p. 90; Mentioned p. 62, 99 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E, Ursula Korneitchouk, Michael R Cunningham, Ursula Korneitchouk, Cleveland Museum of Art, Japan House Gallery, Japan Society (New York, N.Y.), and Japan House Gallery. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 73, no. 39
    Graham, Patricia J. "Lifestyles of Scholar-Painters in Edo Japan." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 7 (1990): 262–283. Reproduced: p. 264; Mentioned: pp. 263–264, 282
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華 : 特别展 : クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから = Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: pp. 110-111, cat. no. 74
    Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: pp. 16-17
    Rivero Lake, Rodrigo. Namban: Art in Viceregal Mexico. [Madrid]: Estiloméxico Editores, 2005. pp. 150 and 152
    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. 33, p. 109, 111
  • Practice and Play in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-November 30, 2025).
    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).
    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).
    Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1987-January 10, 1988).
    Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 1-October 14, 1984).
    Year in Review: 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-March 9, 1980).
  • {{cite web|title=The Four Accomplishments|url=false|author=Kano Shōei|year=late 1500s–early 1600s|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1979.46.2