Japanese Two-Panel Screen with Scenes at the Pleasure Quarters, 18th Century

This pair of screens belongs to a genre of lyrical paintings of flowers, grasses, and other plants that flourished around the middle of the 17th century and became a specialty of the Sôtatsu studio. The use of a rather complex composition of clusters of flowers and the puddling of ink was initiated by Tawaraya Sôtatsu, the founder of the Rimpa School, who was active from 1600 until 1642. The screens are abstract and decorative but there is, at the same time, a keen sense of naturalism not only in the attention to accurate detail but in the profusion of vegetation. The passage of the year is symbolized by the variety of plants that bloom in different seasons. The tarashikomi - here used on leaves, petals and trunks - is a Classic Rinpa technique in which pale black ink or a color is brushed onto an area of a painting and then either darker ink, or the same or a contrasting color, is dropped into the first before it has completely dried, creating an effect of pooled colors with softly blurred edges. Its delicacy, preciousness, and effeminacy are identified with the over-refinement of its patrons, while the vigor, monochromatic discipline, sharp observation, and virile forms of the Kano school are a testament to the vitality of the rising warrior class. The plants are almost all identifiable: in the summer-spring part, you can find wheat, buttercups, irises, begonias, hydrangeas, coral bells...

The scene is dominated by a plum tree in bloom under which a couple of paradise birds is courting. The screen is crossed by a luxuriant creek, a typical feature of the springtime.  

Karamono with flower arrangements and rare birds Edo period, 18th century Pair of two-panel folding screens Ink, colors, gofun and gold leaf on paper Each 170 by 165 cm ...

A pair of six-panel folding screens with peonies and other flowers 19th century Each 72.5 by 241 cm Small and elegant screens with an ideal scene depicting peonies and other flower species...

This painting represents a man waiting under a dark tree. The composition is extremely simple but suggestive. The artist, with few elements, can, in fact, create a vivid and dynamic scene, based on the tension between the strong ink stain that renders the tree and the elegant figure of the man, dressed in an aristocratic robe. Painter and designer, Kamisaka Sekka...

Signed: Josaku Meda. 60. Singed on the back: "Paysage humain" N°14 / 7.1960 / Josaku MAEDA / à Paris Exhibitions: Turin (Italy), Gissi Gallery, Collettiv...

Mineral pigments and gofun on paper with gold dust, and silk brocade border. Painting in good condition and mounting fresh. Signature reads, Shucho Sadayoshi. Japan, second half of t...

18th century Japanese Screen of a Collection of Fans. Paintings on fans depict famous Japanese painting subjects, this screen was most li...

Japanese Six Panel Screen: Snow Scene at Water's Edge with Flowers and Waterfowl. Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of plum, bamboo, white camellias, cranes and mandarin ducks ...

Japanese six-panel screen: Battle at Uji Bridge, the first battle at Uji was in 1180 and it marked the start of the Heike Wars. The Genji troops crossed the...

Eagle on a pine branch with traces of white snow. A rare subject for this mid-century two-panel screen, painted in mineral pigments on gilded paper. The screen is a nice size and is ...

Abstracted painting of ships moored in the background. Painted by Nishide Kofuku and exhibited at the 1963 Nitten National Exhibition. Kofuku was born in 1926 in Shiga Prefecture. He...