JAPON ÉCOLE KAN?, XVIIIE SIÈCLE

Six-leaf screen painted in polychrome on paper with a gold-leaf background, decorated with a large pine tree with the base of the trunk surrounded by flowers, a few bamboos emerging from golden clouds in the upper right-hand part. This decoration recalls the one entrusted by Kanô Tan'yû in the audience hall of Niji Castle in Tokyo. H. 168 cm - W. 376.5 cm PROVENANCE Belgian private collection. Helena MARKUS, Milan. (2011) Kanô Masanobu's status as an official painter at the shogun's court was important in the prestige and renown of the "Kanô school". Kanô Masanobu (1434-1530), the founder of this school, reintroduced the Chinese influence into Japanese painting with styles and a singular technique that lasted until the Meiji era, from the 15th century to the very beginning of the 20th century. Landscapes of pine trees, bamboo, birds and flowers or animal scenes representing tigers and dragons on a golden background are characteristic of the work of the Kanô school painters.