Duck in Flightmid-1500s · Study 1992.140

Context from the museum

These three fan-shaped paintings, now mounted as individual hanging scrolls, were once part of a set of 20 mounted on a folding screen. They portray the Chinese subjects, from left to right, of the scholar-official Pan Lang, Hanshan reciting his poetry to Shide, and a duck in flight above reeds. Pan Lang grew so fond of the mountain in his place of exile that when he was ordered back to the capital, he rode backward on his donkey so he could see it until it receded into the distance. Hanshan and Shide worked in the kitchen of a Zen monastery, but were actually reincarnations of the bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra. The combination of a mandarin duck and reeds may have signified a level of attainment in Chinese civil service exams. All three paintings bear the seal of the Kantobased artist Shikibu Terutada. Shikibu was familiar with Kano school painting, but he also modeled his early style after that of the prominent Kanto-based Kenkō Shōkei (active about 1470–after 1523).

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting measurement for Duck in Flight is 50.2 cm wide and 25 cm high, equivalent to approximately 19.8 × 9.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 2.01:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.13 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 16.7% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 124.9 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Duck in Flight in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, fan painting mounted as hanging scroll; ink and gold on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 50.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?