Minneapolis Institute of Art

Roosters and Hens [right of a pair]

Itō Jakuchū

Date

18th century

Medium

Six-panel folding screen, one of a pair, ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This pair of folding screens features twelve individual compositions, each pasted onto its own panel, a format known as an oshiebari screen. Each painting shows either a rooster or a hen (look out for two chicks hidden in one picture). Overlaid brushstrokes in varied ink tones capture the details of feathers and combs. Against white paper marked with only the briefest suggestions of natural settings—cactus, bamboo, pine tree, banana plant, willow tree—the birds’ flamboyant poses and dramatic plumage stand out. Chickens were the favorite subject of Itō Jakuchū, one the best-known painters in Kyoto in the 1700s. Japan, Asia

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