梅に水鳥図 (Ume ni mizutori zu)|Plum Tree and Waterfowl
early 16th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 26 1/2 × 17 1/8 in. (67.3 × 43.5 cm) Overall with mounting: 68 1/4 × 22 in. (173.3 × 55.9 cm) Overall with knobs: 68 1/4 × 24 in. (173.4 × 61 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2020
Accession Number
2020.396.12
Art Historical Context
Plum Tree and Waterfowl is a refined hanging scroll created by Kano Masanobu in the early 16th century during Japan’s Muromachi period. As the founder of the influential Kano school, Masanobu helped shape a distinctive style that combined Chinese-inspired ink techniques with Japanese sensibilities, becoming the dominant mode of official painting for centuries to come. Executed in ink and color on paper, the work depicts a plum tree and waterfowl in a compact, elegant composition. The hanging-scroll format was especially valued in this era, allowing artworks to be rotated with the seasons in t...