Magpies in a Fruit Tree

Two magpies are squabbling on a branch of a fruit tree, probably a species of pomegranate. Yūhi emulated the style of Shen Quan, a Chinese academic painter who specialized in bird-and-flower subjects and who visited Nagasaki, Japan, from 1731 to 1733. This style combined traditional decorative compositions with elements of Western realism, including chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and dark in visual art. Yūhi championed Shen’s style in Japan and became the earliest proponent of the Nagasaki school, which specialized in such bird-and-flower paintings.