Kanō Tanyu
(1602-1674)

Two wild geese

Vertical hanging scroll painted in ink on paper, 29 x 46 cm

Signed in the lower left corner with seal; silk frame.

Provenance: Italian private collection.
Born in Kyoto, Tanyu is one of the major exponents in the seventeenth century of the Kanō School, the longest-running and one of the most glorious in Japan. In 1614 he moved to Edo (today's Tokyo) to enter the service of the Tokugawa shōgun, becoming head of the official atelier and carrying out numerous official commissions. In 1636 he became a Buddhist monk, in 1638 he was awarded the honorary title of hōgen and in 1655 that of hōin, the maximum a Japanese artist could aspire to.