Page 271 - Fine Japanese Art October 28, 2020 Galerie Zacke

275 | KANO SHOEI
SUKENOBU: AN
IMPRESSIVE SCROLL
PAINTING OF
TEKKAI SENNIN
EXHALING HIS
ANIMA

Kano Shoei Sukenobu (d. 1857),
signed Shoei Sukenonu hitsu with
seal
Japan, late Edo period (1615-1868)

Painted with ink and colors on
paper and mounted as a hanging
scroll, depicting Tekkai Sennin
exhaling his anima, in the form
of a small figure in the upper left
corner, to visit Laozi in paradise,
the immortal wearing a long
flowing robe, with two small
double-gourd flasks attached to
his obi, and leaning on a walking
cane with both hands. Note the
extremely fine quality of the
painting as evident in the thin, wild
hair and beard, Tekkai’s strong
expression and piercing gaze, and
the bod brushstrokes of his robe.

The Kano school is one of the
most famous schools of Japanese
painting and was the dominant
style of painting from the late 15th
century until the Meiji period, by
which time the school had divided
into many different branches.
The Kano family itself produced a
string of major artists over several
generations and according to the
historian of Japanese art Robert
Treat Paine, “another family which
in direct blood line produced so
many men of genius ... would
be hard to find”. Kano Shoei
Sukenobu was the 11th generation
head of the Negishi Ogyonomatsu
branch of the Kano School, son of
the 10th generation head Kano
Asen Takanobu (1809-1892).
Image SIZE 118.4 x 55.1 cm, total
SIZE 190 x 67.2 cm
Condition: Wear, creases, stains,
and few small tears. The roller
ends are missing.
Provenance: German private
collection.
Estimate EUR 1,500
Starting price EUR 750

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