Wild Geese
late 1500s-early 1600s
Medium
pair of six-fold screens; ink on paper
Dimensions
170.2 × 371.8 cm · image: 152 × 359 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1987.9.1
Tags
About this artwork
Depictions of geese usually appear as ink paintings in Japan during the 1200s. They later show up in the colorful landscapes of illustrated handscrolls. Such early ink renditions of the birds have long been associated with classical Chinese Zen painting and poetry, which was avidly admired and collected in medieval Japan. In the screens on display, the artist portrayed the waterfowl in a pastoral setting without reference to classical or religious themes. Such ordinary subjects were imbued with ...