Who painted Birds and Flowers?

Birds and Flowers was painted by Sesshū Tōyō in 1473.

Where can I see Birds and Flowers?

Birds and Flowers is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Birds and Flowers?

Birds and Flowers is associated with Renaissance.

Artwork

Birds and Flowers

Sesshū Tōyō , 1473

Birds and Flowers is an unspecified painting by the Renaissance artist Sesshū Tōyō. It dates from 1473 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Accession no.: 1964.157.1
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry

About this work

Overview

Birds and Flowers is a painting attributed to Sesshū Tōyō, a prominent artist. It is one of a pair of works that may have originally been part of larger compositions or served as flanking scrolls to a central landscape.

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts a natural scene divided into two sections, one featuring autumn flowers such as sweet osmanthus and hibiscus, and the other showing summer blooms like daylilies and gardenias, representing different seasons.

History & Provenance

The painting's original context is unclear, but it may have been repurposed from a larger work or used in a luxurious room's alcove, a practice not uncommon for valued artworks like Sesshū's.

Birds Gather under the Spring Willow, Yin Hong

Artist & collection

Artist

Sesshū Tōyō

Sesshū Tōyō (雪舟等楊; c. 1420 – August 26, 1506), also known simply as Sesshū (雪舟; Japanese pronunciation: ), was a Japanese Zen monk and painter who is considered a great master of Japanese ink painting. Initially…