Hanging scroll
ca. 1550
A squirrel eyes a bunch of juicy loquat fruits from his perch on a lower branch. Motonobu’s composition is inspired by the works of earlier Japanese ink painters who began painting this subject in monochrome ink in the 1300s based on pictures introduced from China.
Kano Motonobu was the second-generation head of the Kano family of painters, which began in Kyoto in the late 1400s with his father, Masanobu. Motonobu expanded the effort into a successful painting workshop specializing in pictures modelled after Chinese masters and a distinctive blend of Japanese and Chinese styles that captivated contemporary audiences. He trained both his son, Shо̄ei, and his wildly successful grandson, the prodigy Eitoku. During these four generations, the Kano family of painters came to dominate mainstream Japanese painting. Their descendants continued to do so from studios in cities across Japan into the late 1800s.
Ink on paper
Overall (incl mounting, endknobs & hanging braid): 56 5/16 × 18 11/16 in. (143 × 47.5 cm)
Image: 19 3/4 × 11 1/2 in. (50.2 × 29.2 cm)
Width (Scroll (without endknobs)): 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
Gift of Frank D. Stout
92.47.321
Provenance: Frank D. Stout; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1992
Photo: Spike Mafford
