Folding Screens with Roosters and Hens － RIght

The pair of screens is decorated with 12 separate sheets of paper featuring paintings of chickens. The first two images depict roosters standing alone proudly, but the rest of the paintings depict couples. The painting styles for the roosters and hens are similar, but the roosters are painted larger, while the hens are small and appear to be almost hiding. For the feathers of the roosters, ink is applied using blurring and thinning techniques to give a multi-colored effect but the hens are rendered surprisingly modestly. On the far left painting is an inscription that explains that Jakuchu painted this at the age of 82 and exchanged each painting for one to (approx. 4 gallons) of rice. The painting is so lively that it is difficult to believe it was painted by an 82-year old artist.