Rooster, Hen, and Chicks

Object Details

• Artist

  Kishi Ganku 岸駒 (1749-1838)

• Description

  This scene of barnyard fowl painted by Kishi Ganku offers the artist’s characteristically jaded view of an icon held in high esteem. Gaku’s interpretation is of an elongated and threatening creature. The rooster’s neck feathering, in particular, is luxuriously rendered to the point of the surreal. The most telling episode in the composition is the feeding process; a hen passes a dragonfly to a ravenous chick. The dragonfly’s eyes imply horror and this brilliant, minuscule touch conveys Ganku’s skill at suggesting the darker side of the ostentatiously regal.

  This scene showcases Kishi Ganku’s characteristically jaded view of an icon otherwise held in high esteem. Ganku interprets the rooster as an elongated and threatening creature. In particular, the feathers on bird’s neck are luxuriously rendered to the point of seeming surreal. The most telling image in the composition is the hen feeding a dragonfly to a ravenous chick. The dragonfly’s eyes imply horror, a brilliant, minuscule touch that conveys Ganku’s skill at suggesting the darker side of the ostentatiously regal. A similar approach is seen in the adjacent painting, Eagle.

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Mr. James Freeman

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Kishi, Ganku

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Rooster

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings