Kanō Eitoku
Nationality | Japanese |
Where Artist Lived | Kyoto, Japan |
Associated Movements | Momoyama Period |
Famous Artworks | § Painting of a Cypress (1590) § Scenes in and around the capital (c. 1590) § Birds and flowers of the four seasons (c. 1590) |
Kanō Eitoku was born in 1543 in Kyoto, Japan, and was the grandson of master Kanō Motonobu. Motonobu taught his grandson in a style that was greatly influenced by the dominant Chinese movements. Along with other members of his family such as his father, Eitoku was renowned for his work in temples, where he installed painted ceilings, sliding door paintings, and decorated standing screens.
- Birds and flowers of the four seasons (16th century) by Kanō Eitoku, part of the paintings on room partitions in the abbot’s quarters of Jukō-in of Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Japan, ink on paper. This picture shows four of 16 panels on fusuma (sliding doors) in the ritual room; Kanō Eitoku (狩野永徳) and his father Kanō Shōei (狩野松栄), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Kanō Eitoku’s biggest contribution to the Kanō school’s selection of styles was his monumental style, otherwise known as Taiga, which was characterized by the use of bold brushwork, figures that are disproportionately large, and an emphasis on objects in the foreground. Eitoku was vastly popular in his time and had many patrons who commissioned his work.
The most well-known of these pieces was the eight-panel screen depicting a Cypress tree.
Painting of a Cypress Tree (1590)
Date | 1590 |
Medium | Ink on paper with gold leaf |
Dimensions (cm) | 170 x 460 |
Where It Is Housed | Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan |
This folding screen painting consists of eight panels and depicts a landscape with a cypress tree in the foreground. Constructed from several panels joined together, these screens were used to divide sections of interior spaces to provide privacy to large rooms and parts of a home.
However, Eitoku did not originally paint this scene on a folding screen, but painted it on a sliding door. The folding screen was then used in an aristocratic residence that was built in 1590.
Eitoku painted the trees using a heavy hand and a brush to convey the effect of an overwhelming force, and covered the background in gold leaf. The overall contrast of the piece was achieved using strong lines and a limited color palette to create a striking composition.
Cypress Trees (16th century) by Kanō Eitoku; Kanō Eitoku, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
