Fujiwara Nobuzane

Fujiwara Nobuzane (born 1176, Japan—died 1265?, Japan) was a courtier, poet, and the leading Japanese painter in the 13th century, who carried on the tradition of realistic portrait painting begun by his father, Takanobu.

Of the many paintings attributed to Nobuzane, “The 36 Major Poets” is the best documented. Originally a painting on a single scroll, it was later divided into separate portraits. These portraits are outstanding examples of the nise-e (“likeness picture style”): thin angular outlines filled in with masses of dense colour to depict the stiff court robes and a few sketchy lines to evoke the facial features and convey the personality of the subject. Nise-e was continued by Nobuzane’s son, Tametsugu, and by Tametsugu’s son Korenobu and grandson Tamenobu.