Rooster

The Hanging Scroll, Rooster, painted in 18th-century ink on paper by Itō Jakuchū, is a wonderfully simple piece of art that illustrates the master of natural study and observation, Itō Jakuchū's staggering talent for turning his observation of nature into a beautifully expressive painting. The composition is in the form of a single rooster standing almost frontally on one foot on a straw rice bag measuring 91 × 30.6cm, posed in a surprising theatrical pose. With the setting for the bird sparse, the bird's body, alert expression and elaborate plumage becomes the first thing that comes to mind. The rooster's slightly theatrical pose adds a bit of comic timing and character to the work, and the exposed eye to eye contact makes for an unusually close encounter between the viewer and the animal. The paintings of birds and animals were especially famous among Jakuchū's works. He wasn't confined to any specific methods of painting given in traditional manuals but is reputed to have had dozens of chickens in the garden of his Kyoto house and to have studied and sketched them closely. According to the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, this painting's rooster might have been one of these. This potential is significant in that it highlights Jakuchū's trademark style of observation and creative re-imagining – the bird is identifiable, anatomically correct, but also has a pose and focused expression that makes it feel like a very individual, almost human face. The painting is solely based on the expressive qualities of Sumi ink. In lieu of colour, Jakuchū creates variation by the density, tone and thickness of the ink. On first sighting, it looks somewhat haphazardly put together, but on closer inspection, extremely controlled details: the straw rope around the rice bag, individual feathers of the face, the legs and the feet, and the small dotted patterns on the comb and wattle are well articulated. The broad, diluted washes, and darker, more concentrated strokes provide body while maintaining the immediacy of the ink painting. From then on, this talent to combine realism with eccentricity played a pivotal role in Jakuchū's reputation. Soon inspired by the Kanō school of painting, as well as Chinese Song, Yuan and Ming painting and Shen Nanpin's meticulous bird-and-flower drawings, he began to create a very personal style of painting. His work is known for transcending naturalism to something he called an 'animated' or 'essential' quality of living beings. In this Rooster it manifests in the bird's pose, his gaze, the subtle nuances of his ink and renders him an extraordinary animal, almost a theatre spectacle.