Winter [left from the set Rice Farming in the Four Seasons] by Kano Sanraku

Winter [left from the set Rice Farming in the Four Seasons] c. 1620s

landscape illustration sketch

toned paper

ink painting

light earthy tone

japan

earthy colours

earthy tone

watercolour illustration

pencil art

watercolor

warm toned green

"Winter [left from the set Rice Farming in the Four Seasons]" is a 17th-century screen painting by Kano Sanraku, a prominent artist of the Kano school. This evocative depiction of a winter landscape is part of a larger set exploring the cycle of rice cultivation throughout the year. The painting showcases the serene beauty of a snow-covered landscape, with distant mountains, a thatched-roof farmhouse, and figures engaged in winter activities. Sanraku's mastery of ink and color creates a sense of tranquility and the stillness of nature, offering a glimpse into traditional Japanese life during winter. The work is currently housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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These sliding door panels originally formed the four walls of a small reception chamber at Daikakuji, a Buddhist temple in northwest Kyoto that also served as the palace for Japan’s emperor. The panels form a continuous panorama from wall to wall and present various activities associated with rice cultivation: plowing, transplanting the rice, irrigating, threshing, and grinding. The didactic theme is derived from Chinese painting; agriculture, according to Confucian teachings, is the basis of a well-ordered society. Accordingly, when Japanese rulers adopted Confucianism as their ruling ideology, they also commissioned paintings that reflected social stability, morality, and government values. Although unsigned, these paintings were likely produced by Kano Sanraku. As head of the Kyoto branch of the influential Kano school, Sanraku counted several prominent aristocratic families and Buddhist monasteries, including Daikakuji, as key patrons.