Background
Mr. Kanō was born in Kyoto, Japan, on February 16, 1543. He was the son of Kanō Shōei and grandson of Kanō Motonobu, an official painter for the Ashikaga shogunate.
Mr. Kanō was born in Kyoto, Japan, on February 16, 1543. He was the son of Kanō Shōei and grandson of Kanō Motonobu, an official painter for the Ashikaga shogunate.
Kanō Eitoku received his training under his father, Kanō Shoei, and his grandfather, Kanō Motonobu, who was the leading painter of the first half of the 16th century.
Kanō's first major work was the decoration of the Jukoin sanctuary at Daitokuji, a famous Kyoto Zen temple, a task he undertook with his father in 1566. His fame soon spread, and he became the favorite artist of Oda Nobunaga, the military dictator of Japan, who gave him several commissions. Among those were a set of screens depicting the city of Kyoto and the decoration of Nobunaga's splendid castle at Azuchi on Lake Biwa.
After Nobunaga died in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, continued to patronize Kanō Eitoku. Among the many outstanding works he produced for Hideyoshi were the paintings for the castle in Osaka and the Juraku palace in Kyoto, which Kanō undertook in 1587. Assisted by a large team of collaborators, he produced hundreds of wall paintings, sliding screens, and folding screens, which for sheer magnificence surpassed anything seen in Japan up to that time.
His artistic style was the so-called "monumental style" (taiga). It was characterized by bold, rapid brushwork, an emphasis on the foreground, and motifs that are large relative to the pictorial space. Although many of his works were destroyed, some of them managed to survive. Nowadays there are several sets of screens which give a good idea of his style. Such symbolic representations, as pheasants, phoenixes and trees are often depicted in the works.
Kanō Eitoku was one of the most highly sought-after artists of his time, who received many wealthy and powerful patrons. Among the most remarkable works of the painter are a six-fold screen representing a kind of Japanese cedar called hinoki (National Museum, Tokyo), a huge screen depicting lions (Imperial collection), and a pair of six-part screens showing hawks and pines (Tokyo University of Arts).
Chinese Lions
Old Pine and Cherry Trees by Rocks
Cypress Trees
Birds and flowers of the four seasons
Hermits and a Fairy (Right side)
Famous Views of Sagano (top) and Famous Views of Uji (bottom)
Views inside and outside the capital, Kyoto (Right half)
Birds and Pine Tree
Views inside and outside the capital, Kyoto (Left half)
Hermits and a Fairy (Left Side)
