Hawks

mid-17th century

Not on view

The right-hand scroll of this pair depicts a hawk perched on a rock by a body of water, one leg flexed. A faint reference to a cliff face, executed in ink wash, appears in the background at right. The left-hand scroll features a hawk on an oak branch. The bird’s head is turned as though gazing at something beyond the picture frame. On both animals, the texture of the feathers is effectively conveyed through layered brushwork in various tones by Soga Nichokuan. Like his father, Soga Chokuan, Nichokuan specialized in avian subjects, particularly birds of prey.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

曽我二直庵筆　鷹図
Title: Hawks
Artist: Soga Nichokuan (Japanese, active mid-17th century)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: mid-17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 49 15/16 × 22 3/8 in. (126.8 × 56.8 cm)
Overall with mounting: 81 5/16 × 27 1/16 in. (206.5 × 68.7 cm)
Overall with knobs: 81 5/16 × 29 3/16 in. (206.5 × 74.1 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2018
Object Number: 2018.853.15a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Soga Nichokuan

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Owl on a Pine Branch, Soga Nichokuan Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan — Owl on a Pine Branch
Soga Nichokuan
early 17th century

Daoist Sage and Hawk, Soga Nichokuan Japanese, Pair of fan-shaped paintings mounted on two-panel folding screen; ink on paper, Japan — Daoist Sage and Hawk
Soga Nichokuan
mid-17th century

Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan — Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute
Kano Tan'yū
mid-17th century

Beauty of the Kanbun Era, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan — Beauty of the Kanbun Era
Japan
late 17th century

White Plum Blossoms and Moon, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan — White Plum Blossoms and Moon
Itō Jakuchū
1755

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