Magpie on Viburnum Branch

Genga Japanese

early 16th century

Not on view

Framed by the blossoms of a viburnum, this magpie is depicted with great attention to detail, reflecting a taste for the idealized naturalism characteristic of the imperial painting academy of China’s Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Chinese paintings, treasured by Ashikaga shoguns of the fifteenth century, exerted a strong influence on Japanese artists of the Muromachi period, when Chinese culture also served as a model for the Zen priesthood and educated elite. Little is known about the artist, but a good number of academic-style bird-and-flower paintings feature his seal or have been attributed to his hand.

Artwork Details

元賀筆　ガマズミ属に山鵲図
Title: Magpie on Viburnum Branch
Artist: Genga (Japanese, active early 16th century)
Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Date: early 16th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 18 1/4 in. × 14 in. (46.3 × 35.5 cm)
Overall with mounting: 53 1/2 × 19 1/2 in. (135.9 × 49.5 cm)
Overall with knobs: 53 1/2 × 21 1/2 in. (135.9 × 54.6 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: 29.100.514
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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