Matsubayashi Keigetsu Pair of 1918 Screen Paintings of Magpies

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Matsubayashi Keigetsu Pair of 1918 Screen Paintings of Magpies

About the Item

Pair of byobu or folding screens in two panels, each mounted with paintings on gold foil-covered silk in sumi ink, mineral pigments, and gofun or clam shell gesso with a scene of magpies in a flowering plum on the right, conversing with others in a pine tree on the left. Signed on the right-hand screen by the artist: Keigetsu Sanjin Atsushi, and sealed twice; and on the left-hand screen: Manen Hoki…Keigetsu Shotoku or Good Fortune to Come…Keigetsu Shotoku, and sealed twice (Keigetsu Sanjin or Matsubayashi Keigetsu, the go or art names of Ito Atsushi, 1876 – 1963). Each screen dated: Taisho (era), Year of the Horse, and below the pine: A Lucky New Year. Taisho 7 or 1918. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Matsubayashi Keigetsu studied painting in Tokyo under Noguchi Yükoku. Considered the foremost Nanga school artist of the 20th century, Keigetsu exhibited at both the Bunten and after the Pacific War at the Nitten. He was a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household, and was honored with the Order of Cultural Merit in 1959. His paintings are in the collections of the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art and the Tokyo National Museum. For other examples of his paintings, c.f. Kagedo’s catalogues Breaking Light, numbers 51 and 179, and Light Through Clouds, numbers 5 and 40. Replete with symbolism, these paintings bridge the seasons, from the flowering plum of early spring to the pine of autumn. Sho-chiku-bai (the combination of pine, plum and bamboo) represents longevity (the evergreen pine), strength (bamboo that bends in the wind yet recovers), and renewal (plum that brings forth blossoms in the last snows of winter). Magpies in plum trees traditionally augur the approach of happiness, and the bird is broadly associated with good fortune. Messengers of joy, magpies also form the heavenly bridge over which the Cowherd and Weaver stars tryst in the Tanabata legend. In the old lunar calendar, the Tanabata Festival was celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month. Differing from our calendar, this occurred in early autumn, when the Weaver star (Vega) appeared brightly in the Milky Way. In China, the magpie also signifies scholastic success in the civil service examinations. Both Keigetsu and his classically educated patrons shared this auspicious idiom. A literati painter, Keigetsu delighted in the tradition of inscribing poems on his paintings. Below the flowering plum he has written a poem that can be read: On the Walls and in the corners of the room the sun’s rays are warm. Feathers clear and distinct – charming black and whites. On the hills behind, they build their nests on the new tips of the branches. As soon as they know they bear their glad tidings beside the daylit eaves. Changing into gold seals, a sign of good fortune to come. Flying toward the Milky Way and changing into divine beings. Surrounded, with no means of flying to the bridge of the moon. The King of Wei’s songs and verse to this day are handed down. Translation by Dr. Judith Rabinovitch, Karashima Tsukasa Professor of Japanese Language and Culture at the University of Montana. Painting on gold-covered silk, Keigetsu links the discontinuous scenes in a single, glowing composition. The gold ground he dims with the lightest of sumi shading, giving the scene warmth rather than opulence. The trunk of the plum runs diagonally to meet the heavy branch of the pine in the next screen, while branching right to frame his poetry. The magpies in the plum look to each other, about to take flight towards the pine in which the other three birds rest. Working primarily in values of sumi ink, the painter employs color sparingly for emphasis. A subtle blue highlights the magpies’ feathers. Brilliant malachite green weights the lower margin in the sasa bamboo, echoed in the lichens dotted across both trees. White gofun lightly washes the glimmering plum blossoms. A blush of ochre warms the pine trunk. Contrasting brushwork lends rich texture, with softly pooling tarashikomi in the plum playing off the sharp needles of the pine and the scaled bark of its branches. Keigetsu’s magpies sociably converse, rendered with a quirkiness that speaks of age rather than youth, the pleasures of friendship and the knowledge of time. 67” high x 65 ½” wide, each screen when opened flat.

Creator:
Matsubayashi Keigetsu (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 67 in (170.18 cm)Width: 65.5 in (166.37 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1918
Condition:
Seller Location:
Orcas, WA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU9589742195