Artwork
Summer and Winter Landscapes
Summer and Winter Landscapes is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Kano Naonobu. It dates from 1604 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work presents a diptych of contrasting seasonal vistas: a winter scene occupies the left panel while a summer landscape fills the right.
- Accession no.
- 2015.481
- Credit line
- Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
About this work
Overview
The work presents a diptych of contrasting seasonal vistas: a winter scene occupies the left panel while a summer landscape fills the right. The composition is deliberately sparse, emphasizing the quiet shift between cold and warmth. Both images are rendered on paper screens that were later repaired, with added paper and inpainting to retain the original visual intent.
Subject & Meaning
By juxtaposing winter and summer, the painting invites contemplation of nature’s cyclical rhythm. The stark, leaf‑less terrain on the left contrasts with the lush, verdant expanse on the right, suggesting a meditation on impermanence and the passage of time, themes resonant in Japanese aesthetic thought.
Technique & Style
Executed in a restrained manner typical of Edo‑period ink and color work, the artist employs minimal brushstrokes and limited palette to convey atmosphere. The sparse arrangement foregrounds negative space, allowing subtle tonal variations to suggest seasonal details without elaborate ornamentation.
History & Provenance
Created by Kano Naonobu, younger brother of the noted Kano Tan’yū, the piece reflects his early career after moving from Kyoto to Edo in 1630 at the Tokugawa government’s request. Naonobu assisted his brother on commissions for Nijō Castle and the Chion’in temple before producing independent works such as this diptych.
Context
The paper screens suffered damage over time; a later conservation effort introduced new paper sections and careful inpainting to restore structural integrity while preserving the original aesthetic. This intervention enables continued public display and scholarly study of the work.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Kanō Naonobu (狩野 尚信, 25 November 1607 – 7 May 1650) was a Japanese painter of the Kanō school of painting during the early Edo period.
