Birds and Flowers - Kano Mitsunobu

A fine art print of a six-panel screen painting by Kano Mitsunobu, featuring a peacock and various birds amidst flowering plants on a gold leaf background.

This work by Kano Mitsunobu represents the Kacho-ga tradition, a genre focused on the depiction of birds and flowers. As a member of the Kano school, Mitsunobu operated during the Momoyama period, a time when large-scale screen paintings were commissioned to decorate the interiors of castles and temples. The use of gold leaf as a background provides a reflective surface that illuminates the room, a common technique for works intended for dimly lit architectural spaces.

The composition features a peacock perched upon a rock, surrounded by flowering shrubs and pine branches. The artist employs a balance between the detailed rendering of the avian subjects and the more stylised, decorative treatment of the flora. The ink work on the rocks and tree trunks provides a structural contrast to the delicate application of pigment on the petals and feathers. The spatial arrangement across the six panels suggests a continuous environment, moving from the dense, textured foreground on the left to the open, atmospheric distance on the right.

Kano Mitsunobu, the son of the influential Kano Eitoku, developed a style that moved away from the bold, aggressive brushwork of his father towards a more restrained and lyrical aesthetic. This shift is visible in the careful placement of elements and the controlled use of negative space. The work functions as a decorative screen, designed to be viewed in a domestic or ceremonial setting. The inclusion of water birds and distant mountains adds a sense of depth and seasonal progression to the scene. This print captures the original scale and texture of the screen, allowing for an appreciation of the interplay between the metallic ground and the organic forms.