A Kano School sumi-e six-panel byōbu painted on a gold-leaf with a minimalistic composition - Paper, Gold leaf - Bearing the signature and seals of Kanō Tan’yū (1602–1674) - Japan - Edo Period (1600-1868)

A fine Kano school sumi-e (black ink-wash painting) six-panel byōbu painted on a gold-leaf ground with a minimalistic composition with a view of small sailing boats crossing an expansive stretch of water,

The principal vessel, viewed from the stern and slightly at an angle, occupies the centre of the composition, while smaller boats in the distance lead the eye towards a mountainous shoreline barely emerging through the haze on the left. A few undulating lines suggest the surface of the water and the vessels’ wakes.

The left panel bears the vertical inscription translating as ‘Painted by Tan’yū Hōin at the age of seventy-three’, followed by a gourd-shaped seal and a square seal.

Signed (after) Kanō Tan'yū (1602–1674), one of the most celebrated masters of the Kanō school and the official painter to the Tokugawa shogunate. Tan'yū played a pivotal role in establishing the Kanō style during the Edo period, developing a pictorial language distinguished by elegance, compositional restraint, and a masterful balance between painted forms and intentionally unpainted space.

The screen is finished with silk borders and a lacquered wooden frame.

The screen can also be easily mounted on a wall or used as a room divider.

Byōbu (屏風), literally “wind protection screens,” are traditional Japanese folding screens originally created to divide spaces and today appreciated above all as striking wall-mounted paintings.

--- The byobu is in good condition with some holes across the surface and wear along the joints. Restoration between the third and fourth panels. Wear to the lacquered frame. Please refer to the pictures for further details.

The item will be carefully packed and shipped accompanied by the original certificate of authenticity issued by Mastromauro Japanese art gallery based in Milan, Italy.
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