Views Inside and Outside the Capital, Kyoto (Right half) 1561

This is the right half of the folding screen, 'Views Inside and Outside the Capital, Kyoto,' by Kanō Eitoku, created with ink, color, and gold leaf. The glittering gold leaf imbues the scene with opulence, an almost dreamlike quality that blurs the boundary between reality and idealization. Patches of mountains, buildings, and trees punctuate the golden ground, creating a fragmented yet unified composition. Eitoku employs a bird's-eye view, compressing space to flatten the pictorial plane. This strategic use of perspective invites us to deconstruct traditional modes of representation, prompting a critical reflection on how we perceive and codify space. The artist's dynamic brushwork animates the pictorial space, as the painting unfolds a dialectic between chaos and order. The artwork confronts us with questions about how art can reflect, challenge, and redefine our understanding of the world.