Five Sparrows on Bamboo, 16th century, Traditionally attributed to Sesson Shkei, Japanese, 1504 - 1589, 37 1/2 × 16 1/8 in. (95.25 × 40.96 cm) (image)71 5/8 × 21 5/8 in. (181.93 × 54.93 cm) (mount), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan, 16th century, In the 1500s and 1600s Japanese painters created works inspired by the Chinese Zen monk-painter Muqi Fachang (active c. 1210after 1269). Sometimes they painted in his style, and other times they painted subjects associated specifically with him. This painting does both: the subject matter and the painting style hearken back to Muqi. Japans military rulers owned a painting of sparrows on bamboo by Muqi. This painting became well known because it was copied and distributed widely. Japanese people came to associate this subject with Muqi.
Five Sparrows on Bamboo, 16th century, Traditionally attributed to Sesson Shkei, Japanese, 1504 - 1589, 37 1/2 × 16 1/8 in. (95.25 × 40.96 cm) (image)71 5/8 × 21 5/8 in. (181.93 × 54.93 cm) (mount), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan, 16th century, In the 1500s and 1600s Japanese painters created works inspired by the Chinese Zen monk-painter Muqi Fachang (active c. 1210after 1269). Sometimes they painted in his style, and other times they painted subjects associated specifically with him. This painting does both: the subject matter and the painting style hearken back to Muqi. Japans military rulers owned a painting of sparrows on bamboo by Muqi. This painting became well known because it was copied and distributed widely. Japanese people came to associate this subject with Muqi.