Japanese painter (1476?1559)
White-robed
Kannon
, Bodhisattva of Compassion
Kan? Motonobu
(
狩野 元信
, August 28, 1476 ? November 5, 1559)
was a
Japanese
painter
and
calligrapher
. He was a member of the
Kan? school
of painting. Through his political connections, patronage, organization, and influence he was able to make the Kan? school into what it is today. The system was responsible for the training of a great majority of painters throughout the
Edo period
(1603?1868). After his death, he was referred to as
Koh?gen
(古法眼).
Family background
[
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]
The Kan? family are presumed to be the descendants from a line of warriors from the Kan? district. The Kan? district is now called
Shizuoka Prefecture
. The forebear of this family was
Kan? Kagenobu
. He seems to have been a retainer of the Imagawa family. It has been reported that he painted a picture of
Mount Fuji
for a visit to the
sh?gun
Ashikaga Yoshinori
in 1432. The Kan? family dominated the painting world from the end of the
Muromachi period
(1336?1573) to the end of the
Edo period
(1603?1868).
Kan? Masanobu, Motonobu's father, was the founder of the
Kan? school
. Kan? Masanobu was the official court painter to the
Ashikaga shogunate
in 1481. Masanobu was a professional artist whose style derived from the
Kanga
style (
Chinese-style ink painting
). Masanobu’s descendants were the people that made up the Kan? school. The Kan? school had secular ink painters.
Hosokawa Sumimoto
on Horseback
by Kan? Motonobu,
Eisei Bunko Museum
, 1507
Career
[
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]
At the age of 10 years old, he become an attendant of general
Yoshihisa Ashikaga
, and it is said that he served
Yoshizumi Ashikaga
.
[1]
Since Kan? Motonobu was a son and heir of the founder of the Kan? School,
Kan? Masanobu
, he was likely trained in
Kanga
(
Chinese-style ink painting
) by his father. Right away Motonobu showed great promise as an artist and procured several commissions from major patrons as early as nine years old. Such patrons include the Ashikaga shogunate, members of the imperial aristocracy, Kyoto merchant class, and major
Kyoto
shrines and temples.
[2]
Portrait of
Hosokawa Takakuni
by Kan? Motonobu,
T?rin-in
, 1543
One of his earliest documented contracts was for a set of votive plaques (
e-ma
) depicting for the
Thirty-six Poetry Immortals
for the Shinto shrine of Itsukushima. It was commissioned by a group of Sakai merchants in 1515 and the pieces are now located in
Hiroshima Prefecture
.
By the 1530s Motonobu had married the daughter of the head of the
Tosa School
of painting,
Tosa Mitsunobu
, had three sons (Sh?ei [1519?1592], Yusetsu [1514?1562], and Joshin), and lead a small Kan? sect in northern Kyoto. The workshop contains roughly ten people
[3]
containing Motonobu, his three sons, Motonobu’s younger brother Yukinobu (1513?1575), and some assistants that might have not been blood related.
[2]
Since Motonobu was the head or chief architect of these paintings he took on the contracting, production, and organization of the projects while still being very involved with the marketing of his work and his studio. Known for his charm and intellect, Motonobu became a fierce businessman, and frequently petitioned to the shogun for a vast amount of varied commissions with his fellow merchant,
Hasuike Hideaki
.
[3]
Motonobu is a painter who survived the turbulent world of the Warring States period while receiving the patronage of the influential people of the time, such as the
shogunate
, the imperial court,
Ishiyama Hongan-ji
, and the influential townspeople.
However, the time he spent marketing did not deter him from his paintings. As head of the Kan? school, he took the most important rooms in a building commissioned, and then assigned his son and assistants other projects based on hierarchy. These projects could be painting their own rooms independently or grinding pigments, preparing the paper, painting the background color, or simply filled in large areas of color. As a result of Motonobu's marketing skills, the commissions grew allowing the workshop and school itself to expand.
[3]
[2]
Motonobu trained his workshop which was full of members of his family and other apprentices to execute his many designs. The workshop trained other artists by watching the master painter work and emphasised recreating their master's style.
As a professional painter, he left works in a variety of genres, including portraits such as that of "Iio Munegi" (
Museum of Fine Arts
, Boston) and the "Kamo Shimba Zukaku" (votive tablet depicting a horse) for the
Kamo Shrine
in Hyogo Prefecture, both of which are still extant.
Style
[
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]
Motonobu was known for his Chinese monochromatic style and characteristic brushwork, pioneering the
suiboku-ga (sumi-e)
painting style in Japan. The forms were organic, natural, and full of drama. Motonobu's commissions were generally designed for in the home of the samurai warrior class, focusing on
fusuma
and
by?bu
. His sumi-e style paintings are reported to take inspiration from three distinct Chinese masters of the sumi-e technique,
Mu-ch'i Fa-ch'ang
,
Hsia Kuei
, and Yu Chien (c. 1230).
[3]
However, he was versatile in his painting and was able to produce landscapes, scenery, and figures of bold decorative patterns.
[2]
This was likely due to his father-in-law being head of the Tosa school,
Tosa Mitsunobu
, who was famous for his revival of the
yamato-e
style. Noted works in the
yamato-e
style include a set of hand scrolls
Seiry?-ji
no engi
("Origins of Seiry?-ji", 1515; Kyoto, Seiry?-ji), and some
fusuma
wall paintings. By mastering these two distinct styles, Motonobu's artistic skills could be tailored to match his respective patron and create a unique fusion of Chinese and Japanese style. This fusion of Chinese style and iconography with Japanese aesthetics is what helped the Kan? school achieve the legendary status it is known for today.
[3]
He also was a master in calligraphy, specifically the formal style known as
shintai
("new form"), the more informal form known as
gy?sho
("running style"), and the running style
s?sho
("grass", very cursive style).
-
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
, 1513, 139x170 cm.
Daisen-in
,
Daitoku-ji
,
Kyoto
.
-
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
, 1513, 139x170 cm.
Daisen-in
,
Daitoku-ji
,
Kyoto
.
-
Four Seasons
(Autumn and Winter), 1560.
-
Four Seasons
(Spring and Summer), 1560.
-
-
-
Landscape in snow
, between 1476 and 1559. Published in
Encyclopædia Britannica
, 11th Ed.
, Vol. 15, 1911, page 176.
-
The Daoist Immortal
Huang Chuping
, 16th century, ink on paper,
Honolulu Museum of Art
.
Legacy
[
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]
One of Motonobu's greatest achievements was the creation of a new technique for painting. This technique formed the basis for the early Kan? school style. It was known as
wa-kan
, a mixture of Japanese and Chinese painting. This combination had the spatial solidity and careful brushwork techniques of
Kanga
. It also had some of the characteristics of
Yamato-e
style
, for instance, the fine line and decorative patterning, use of colors, and gold leaf. The wall panels depicting
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
shows this combination of styles.
He taught other generations everything he learned. This established some creativity and flexibility in the Kan? school.
The Story of Xiang yan
(Tokyo National Museum) shows the emergence of Kan? style, although it has an underlying
Chinese philosophy
to it. But the figure in the foreground is active and the vertical plane makes the painting Japanese. The brushwork and compositional elements also make the painting appear distinctively Japanese.
The Kan? school flourished because of leaders like Motonobu. His reputation, talent and developed organizational skills made this possible. Though the school was founded in the 15th century, its impact can still be felt in modern art across the world.
[4]
Works
[
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]
- Kurama-dera engi (‘Origins of Kurama temple’;
Zen Patriarchs)
, 1513. Separated and distributed into hanging scrolls, ink and color on paper, 175.1 x 88.4 cm. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
https://mdid3.uwsp.edu/data/record/10512/2015_00571jpg/
[
permanent dead link
]
- Em-a Thirty Six Immortal Poets
, 1515. Hanging Scroll ink on paper. Shinto shrine of Itsukushima.
- The Four Accomplishments
, mid-16th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44673
- Bo Ya Plays the Qin as Zhong Ziqi Listens
, 1530s. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, Image: 65 1/16 × 34 1/4 in. (165.2 × 87 cm) Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 40 13/16 in. (271.5 × 103.7 cm) Overall with knobs: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 43 3/16 in. (271.5 × 109.7 cm).
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53233
- Bamboo Stalks, Rocks and Cranes
, 15th century. Ink on paper.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/10/24/arts/motonobu-father-kano-styles/#.Woc1ZZM-cWo
- White-robed Bodhisattva of Compassion
, Early 16th century. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, Image: 157.2 x 76.4 cm (61 7/8 x 30 1/16 in.) Mount (with jiku): 256.5 x 104.1 cm (101 x 41 in.).
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
, Fenollosa-Weld Collection.
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/white-robed-bodhisattva-of-compassion-24752
- 49 Landscapes with Flowers and Birds
, Early 16th century. Hanging Scroll, mounted ink and color on paper, Kyoto Shinto Shrine.
- Hosokawa Sumimoto
on Horseback
, 1507. Hanging Scroll, ink and color on paper.
Eisei Bunko Museum
.
- Portrait of
Hosokawa Takakuni
,
1543. Hanging Scroll, ink and color on paper.
T?rin-in
.
- Mountain and water,
Hanging Scroll, ink and color on paper.
Tokyo National Museum
.
References
[
edit
]
- Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary
, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991,
ISBN
4-7674-2015-6
.
- Mason, R.H.P. and J.G.Caiger,
A History of Japan
, Tokyo 1977,
OCLC
611868815
- Art Grove Dictionary
. Oxford University Press 2007-2009.
- Jordan, Brenda G. and Victoria Weston.
Copying the Master and Stealing His Secrets: Talent and Training in Japanese Painting.
University of Hawai’i Press; Honolulu, 2003.
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online
.
- Specific
External links
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