The Japanese Renaissance

A selection of thirty-nine exceptional paintings on folding screens (byōbu) and sliding doors (fusumae) presents the golden age of Japanese painting between the Muromachi and early Edo periods, from the 15th to the 17th century. Curator Rossella Menegazzo illustrates the major trends that characterize Japanese art during this time, which were instrumental in developing the aesthetic canons that are present in Japan to this day. Monochromatic ink painting featuring landscapes by Sesshū Tōyō, Hasegawa Tōhaku, Unkoku Tōgan, Sesson are steeped in Chinese tradition and evocative symbolism. The decorative works with gold backgrounds by artists from the Kanō school are more explicit and easy to understand. They feature brightly coloured flowers and birds, the four seasons, and famous places of Japanese literature and poetry, and testify to the birth of a more modern, local style.