Kano school scrolls?? Opinions please.

[Matsunoki]

One of my favourite subjects in Japanese Art is the depiction of hawks, falcons and other birds of prey.

I recently acquired this pair of large scrolls (from Japan).

They appear to carry the seal of Kano Naonobu (1519-1592ish). They are said to be two paintings from a now lost Kano hawk byobu screen that were remounted as scrolls in 1914. 
Do we have any Kano knowledge on our Forum?

Does that provenance seem possible?

Certainly the paintings are older than the scroll mountings and they look “right” to me but really, I bought them because I absolutely love them.

Any opinions anyone?

Many thanks.

[Hiro]

Hello, such beautiful paintings!

If they’re by 直信 (狩野松栄Shōei), that makes them even more special.

I like Shōei, so this part especially stood out to me →「two paintings from a now lost Kano hawk byobu screen that were remounted as scrolls in 1914. 」

I wonder if these might have been dispersed during Haibutsu Kishaku廃仏毀釈 (the anti-Buddhist movement) in the early Meiji period?

 

I looked into where the “花鳥図Flower-and-Bird” paintings by Shōei that are still known today are currently housed.

 

As a result, I found information suggesting that the “四季花鳥図Four Seasons Flower-and-Bird Paintings” once at 大徳寺瑞峯院Zuihō-in of Daitoku-ji may no longer be extant.

The “梅花雄鶏図Plum Blossoms and Rooster” painting that was at 真珠庵Shinju-an, also within Daitoku-ji, is likewise no longer there; however, there seems to be a view that a pair of six-panel folding screens now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston may in fact be that work.

 

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Incidentally, Zuihō-in of Daitoku-ji was founded in 1535 (天文Tenbun 4) by 大友宗麟 Ōtomo Sōrin as the family temple of the Ōtomo clan.

Sōrin himself later converted to Christianity, and it is said that a painting depicting his meeting with missionaries is held in Germany (in the Schönborn Collection at Weissenstein Castle).

 

However, Anthony van Dyck, the court painter to the English royal family who created this work, never traveled to Japan, so Sōrin’s likeness was imagined.

It’s a bit disappointing—had van Dyck visited Japan, we might have been left with a truly lifelike oil portrait of him.

Ōita City.Ōtomo Sōrin.pdf

 

Edited April 25 by Hiro

[Hiro]

Returning to Shōei…

Unlike his father, 元信Motonobu, Shōei is said to have been gentle and kind, and it’s often noted that this quality is reflected in his paintings. 

His son was the famous Kanō Eitoku狩野永徳, and I believe that Eitoku’s success was also supported by Shōei.

I almost never get a chance to talk about Shōei, so I was really happy to be able to write about him here this time. Thank you very much.

 

The inscription appears as follows:

Credit:日本書画落款印譜 Maar-sha Publishing Co., Ltd.

Edited April 25 by Hiro