Reeds and ducks

谷文晁筆　鴨図屏風

This screen painting depicts five geese among reeds along a riverbank. The motif of reeds and geese dates back to the eleventh century in China; it was brought to Japan by Buddhist pilgrim monks returning home and began to appear in Buddhist paintings toward the end of the 1200s. In Japan this theme, popular throughout the Edo period, connotes the fall season.

Buncho, a prolific painter, is known for his eclectic style, which combines the powerful brushstrokes of Chinese painting, the vivid colors of Japanese painting, and elements derived from Western paintings and etchings. Here, he used two distinctive techniques: broad brushstrokes and dots to render the river bank, and the depiction of the birds' fine feather patterns in a realistic fashion that derived from the oil painting technique Buncho had learned by copying the works of Dutch masters. (The Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to trade with Japan during the Edo period, and therefore the only foreigners with whom the Japanese had contact.)In the upper-right corner are the artist's signature, "Buncho," and his seal, "Buncho-ga in" ("Painted and sealed by Buncho").