Kwartel met kuikens 1893 - 1899

Kano Tsunenobu made this print of a quail and chicks some time in the late 17th or early 18th century. At this time, the Kano school of painting was the official artistic style of the powerful Tokugawa shogunate. Tsunenobu became the head of the school in 1682, and so this print gives us an insight into the aesthetic values of Japan’s ruling elite. We see an interest in naturalism, and how that interest could be brought into harmony with the traditions of Japanese art. Note the stylized rocks and the carefully observed rendering of the quail’s plumage, which could be interpreted as the artist attempting to reconcile observation with artistic convention. Prints like this were made for a relatively small circle of educated people who understood their artistic language. Looking at them today, art historians can learn a lot about the ideas and values of the people who commissioned and enjoyed them. We study their letters and diaries, their political and religious affiliations, and the institutions of art to which they belonged.