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context: painting > great schools > kano
Kano Masanobu 1434-1530
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White Crane, Bamboo and Rocks by Kano Masanobu
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The dynasty was launched when the great Zen painter Sesshu recommended an artist (who had also been taught by Josetsu, it seems) from the village of Kano for some painting work in the Kinkakuji pavillion. It made his career, and he taught his son, and the dynasty was off and running. It's perhaps surprising, given the extravagance and opulence to come, that even if Masanobu was never an explicitly religious painter, his work was hugely indebted to Zen styles. The brushwork on the bamboo and rocks on the image here, and it's asymmetrical composition, are pure Zen.