Crane (tsuru)

A pair of Japanese screens depicting different families of tsuru crane with their young on the edge of a stream. They are two different species of cranes, a guy with white plumage and red crown of the head, the other with dark plumage, red legs lighter and orbit. In East Asia the cranes, especially those with white feathers are a symbol of good fortune. For two thousand years the Chinese considered the cranes animals particularly long-lived and resilient, able to "navigate between heaven and earth." These characteristics have led to the cranes were associated with sennin, the "Immortals" of Taoism. In Japanese culture this subject is related to the celebrations of the new year, as well as at weddings. The elegance of the movement of animals, which reveals the craftsmanship of the hand of the anonymous artist belonging to the Kano school of painting, together with the beauty of the patina of pure gold leaf seventeenth century, these paintings differ from others on the same subject, but subsequent periods.