Crows in an Old Tree

Seven raucous crows flit in and around an old tree at dusk, a scene all too common in autumn and winter. In Japanese poetry and painting, crows have long served as signs of the arrival of winter (the autumn season is suggested in this painting by the pink highlights on the tree’s leaves), and, by extension, death. One old folk belief is that a crow’s call may signal the death of someone nearby. Another says that a crow’s call at night is an omen of a fire. This can make them a somewhat gloomy motif. Here, though, Buson’s loose, energetic brushwork lends the scene a sense of liveliness.

Sul dipinto

Scheda

Nella stessa sala · G221, Minneapolis Institute of Art

Sì, riceve visite

In catalogo

Fonti

Kite and two crows

Snow Landscape

Moon Viewing, from The Tale of Heike

Farmer Returning Home in Autumn

Landscape with a Solitary Hut

Evening Landscape with Traveler

Pine Tree and Rock

Three Laughers of Tiger Ravine

Kite and two crows, c. 1766–70

Rider [center of a triptych of Three Scenes of Autumn Evening], late 17th century

Landscape [left of a triptych of Three Scenes of Autumn Evening], late 17th century

Landscape [right of a triptych of Three Scenes of Autumn Evening], late 17th century

Votive plaque with painting of a sacred horse, 1695

Crows and Cryptomeria, late 16th century

Owl and Crested Mynas on a Plum Branch, 16th century