Hawk Grasping a Small Bird

Tsubaki Chinzan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tsubaki Chinzan's versatility as a painter in the cultivated nanga style and as a portraitist of nature is underlined in this bold composition in which the absence of surrounding detail forces us to observe closely the hawk with its captured prey. Here is the world of flux—a natural order, where the supremacy of this proud hawk is determined by its swift wing, not unlike the prowess of the samurai, the class to which Chinzan belonged. The hawk alights on the sharply defined bamboo fronds, whose energized lines echo the shape of the bird's talons. The sharpness of the hawk's eye and the grasping motion of the protruding bamboo leaves above its head fracture the empty space in which the viewer may contemplate the other bird's uncertain fate.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art