Birds and Flowers of Summer and Autumn

Birds and Flowers of Summer and Autumn

Shikibu Terutada

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The hollyhocks and lilies of midsummer blooming in the right scroll are countered in the left by flowers of late summer and autumn—cotton roses, chrysanthemums, and eulalia grass. The profusion of detail is characteristic of the art of Shikibu Terutada, a prolific painter active in the Kantō region of eastern Japan. Although his many extant works reveal a familiarity with Kano-school styles and compositions, Terutada is thought to have begun his career emulating the style of Kenkō Shōkei (active before 1478–ca. 1523), the central figure of painting circles in late medieval Kantō. The pair of black-backed wagtails flying at the upper right and the oriole standing sentinel at the left, for example, are identical to motifs found in paintings by Shōkei and his numerous followers.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Birds and Flowers of Summer and AutumnBirds and Flowers of Summer and AutumnBirds and Flowers of Summer and AutumnBirds and Flowers of Summer and AutumnBirds and Flowers of Summer and Autumn

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.