Spring Landscape
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1892.28a-c
Tags
About this artwork
Contains two seals on lower right.
Art Historical Context
**Spring Landscape** by Kano Tanū (1602–1674), created in 1672, the fleeting beauty of Japan's spring during the Edo period (1615–1868). As a master of the prestigious Kano school, Tan'yū blended bold ink washes with delicate detailing, a hallmark of this influential style that dominated Japanese painting for centuries. This *kakemono*—a traditional hanging scroll—likely evokesyamato-e*, the classical Japanese aesthetic celebrating native landscapes, with motifs like blooming cherry blossoms, sturdy cherry trees, and cascading waterfalls symbolizing renewal and the ephemeral nature of life. T...