Birds and Flowers of Spring and Summer

The composition of the right screen focuses on a cherry tree willow, with nightingales and pheasants scattered in the scene. The left screen shows a pine tree entwined with wisteria, with black paradise flycatchers and rufous turtle doves completing the summer image. The lively stream that runs through the scene is shown as a white flow of water, giving a cool sensibility to the overall composition. The composition is set against a gold ground and highlighted by gold clouds. This combination of gold with lavishly colored seasonal birds and flowers was part of the Kano School’s repertoire of birds and flowers of the four seasons images. Kano Eino (Yoshinobu, 1631-1697) was the son of Kano Sansetsu, and is known for his compilation of the Honcho Gashi painting history based on a manuscript by Sansetsu.