Kano Tanyū was a leading Japanese painter of the early Edo period and a master who stood at the pinnacle of the Kano school. Born the son of Kano Naonobu, he showed a talent for painting from an early age and was eventually highly regarded as an official court painter to the Edo shogunate. Whilst upholding the traditional techniques of the Kano school, his artistic style sought a more refined expression and a deeper spirituality; he left behind a wide range of works, from ink wash paintings to coloured paintings. He is particularly highly regarded for the brilliance of his brushwork and the perfection of his compositions in landscape and figure paintings, and he exerted a significant influence on Japanese painting in later generations.