Silk
Edo period
Width: 50 cm / Length: 184 cm
Note: Slight staining throughout.
In the center of the composition, a variety of chrysanthemums arranged in a sturdy basket are rendered with meticulous brushwork and rich color. These autumnal flowers bloom in quiet splendor, embodying the season. Chikanobu Kanō was the son of official shogunate painter Naonobu Kanō and the third-generation head of the prestigious Kobikichō branch of the Kanō school. His precise lines, restrained use of color, and balanced composition are hallmarks of the Kanō tradition.
Kano Chikanobu
1660 – 1728
Kano Chikanobu was a Japanese painter who was active from the early to mid-Edo period. He served as an official painter (goyō eshi) to the Tokugawa shogunate and was the third head of the Kobikichō branch of the Kano school—one of the four most prestigious oku-eshi (inner-palace painters) families of the Edo Kano lineage. His childhood name was Kiyosaburō, and his first given name was Ukon. He also used the art names Jokawa and Taigūsai. His father was Kano Tsunenobu, and his mother was the daughter of Kano Yasunobu. Among his siblings were Genshin and Hoshin, and his son was Koshin. In 1678 (Enpō 6), at the age of 19, he was granted an audience with the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. According to the Tokugawa Jikki (The True Records of the Tokugawa), in the supplement to the Yūtokuin-den gojikki furoku, it is written: "After Yōboku (Tsunenobu) passed away, his son Jokawa Chikanobu was summoned and frequently consulted." This passage indicates that following the death of his father, Chikanobu was entrusted with artistic instruction for Tokugawa Yoshimune, the future eighth shogun.
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