Kristan Hauge Japanese Art

Cranes and Peonies Anonymous, Kano School. Edo period, second half of the 17th century. Six-panel Japanese screen. Ink, pigment gofun and gold leaf on paper. This Japanese screen...

Anonymous Flowers of the Four Seasons A four-panel Japanese screen. Ink, gofun and pigments on gold leaf. This Japanese screen is a rich visual celebration of the flowers of the fo...

Suzuki Shonen (1848-1918) Aged Dragons A pair of six-panel Japanese screens. Ink and gold leaf on paper. Dimensions: Each Screen: H. 170 cm x 378 cm (67" x 149") As with the pair...

Unkoku Toyo (1612-1668) View of West Lake Pair of eight-panel Japanese Screens. Ink and gold wash on paper. Dimensions: Each screen: H. 110 cm x W. 372 cm (43” x 147”) This pair ...

Studio of Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610) “Crows on Pine” Momoyama period. Early 17th Century. A six-panel Japanese Screen. Ink on paper. The early 17th century Momoyama period scree...

Kishi Ganku (1749/1756-1838) Tiger and Pine A six-panel Japanese Screen. Ink on silver leaf. The central focus of this Japanese screen is a large tiger, emerging from shadow, crou...

Kawabe Kasho (b.1892) Dahlias & Cockscomb Taisho era. Circa 1920 Two-panel Japanese Screen. Mineral pigments and ink on silk. This exquisite two-panel Japanese folding screen, pa...

"Pine Trees on the Seashore" A set of four sliding doors (Japanese fusuma). Ink, color, gold-leaf and gold-fleck on paper. Dimensions (total display si...

School of Ogata Korin White Chrysanthemums 18th Century, Edo period. A two-panel Japanese screen. Ink, color, gofun and gold leaf on paper. Dimensions: H. 171 cm x W. 188 cm (67.5” x 74”) On this two-panel Japanese screen we see blooming chrysanthemums, a flower which embodies the essence of autumn in Japan. Here the traditional floral theme has been simplified and stylized. The bright colors and asymmetrical composition against the delicate gold leaf create a luxurious and ornate work of art. Its background, a strikingly patinated grid of gold leaf, denies any sense of place or time and imbues everything with an ethereal glow. The leaves and stems of the plants are nothing more than pools of mottled color and ink without any outline whatsoever. These are typical Rinpa adaptations of traditional ink painting methods; tarashikomi, or diluted washes of color blended while very wet, and mokkotsu, or “bonelessness,” which creates forms without exterior outlines. The relief work of the rounded flower petals has been obtained by the moriage process (a mixture based on ground shells modeled on the surface of the paper). On the lower right of the screen, the siganture “Hokyo Korin Jakumyo” and the “Hoshuku” seal can be read. Korin is Ogata Korin, famed for the Irises (Nezu Museum) and Red and White Plum Blossom (MOA Museum of Art) folding screens, both National Treasures. Korin worked in both Kyoto and Edo in the mid-Edo period. Korin was using the art name “Jakumyo” just after he received the Hokyo level, which was in 1701. This particular screen was published in May of 1961 in the Japanese Sansai Fine Art Magazine*. An in depth article accompanies the photograph of the screen and and a photograph of the signature and seal. This article devotes much of its body to discussing the moriage technique, how it enlivens the chrysanthemum flowers and Korin’s specific skill in using the technique. The article goes on to discuss the most famous works of Korin, utilizing this technique, which were known at the time. Specifically a two-panel screen held in the Honolulu Museum which was discovered in the store-house of Takahashi Soan. A two-panel screen pair which the Nakano family own. A two-panel screen pair with chrysanthemums in moriage in fan designs owned by the Nomura family. Also a small folding screen featuring chrysanthemums held in the Yamato Bunkakan. The article goes on to say that this particular two-fold screen came from the Nijo family. Korin is known to have had a strong connection with the aristocratic Nijo family. The article explains that Korin received a lot of favors from the Nijo family and that this screen would have been gifted to them. Since that time the Honolulu screen has been amended to ‘attributed to Ogata Korin’ and I do not know further details of the other 3 screens. Other Chrysanthemum screens...

Anonymous Camellia & Bamboo Taisho era Two-panel Japanese Screen. Mineral pigment, gofun and ink on silk. A small Japanese Nihonga screen capturing...

Anonymous Late 17th Century Battle of Ichi-no-tani & Yashima Dimensions: Each Screen: H. 175 cm x W. 385 cm (69” x 151.5”) This pair of Japanese screens depict two significant battles from the Genpei War (1180–85), as recounted in the Tale of the Heike, a semi-historical epic chronicling the conflict between rival clans for control of Japan, written in the early 1200s. Each screen portrays a single battle through a series of small episodes, framed by gold clouds, landscape elements, and architectural features. True to the style of many screens inspired by The Tale of the Heike, the scenes are rendered in lavish colors and gold, downplaying the brutality of the warfare. Although based on real events, these narratives often glorified and romanticized the heroic feats of the warriors. Viewers at the time would have been familiar with the story’s details, leading to a proliferation of paintings on folding screens inspired by this theme from the late Muromachi to the early Edo periods. On the right screen, we see the Minamoto’s attack on the Taira, who have retreated from the capital, Kyoto, toward the sea. The central building represents the temporary Taira headquarters, where Taira soldiers are holding the young Emperor Antoku. The Minamoto plan to launch a surprise attack from the rear after descending the steep cliff known as Ichi-no-tani, depicted at the top center. This scene highlights the tactical brilliance of Minamoto commander Yoshitsune and the courage of his men. The left screen captures moments from the Battle of Yashima...

Unkoku Toshuku (1722-1779) Crows and Pines A pair of six-panel Japanese Screens. Ink and gold leaf on paper. Dimensions: Each Screen: H. 170.5 cm x W. 375 cm Haha-cho or mynah birds, whose forms resemble crows in artwork, were commonly depicted in Japanese art. These types of paintings were originally modeled on paintings attributed to the 13th century Chinese painter Muqi (Mokkei), whose art was enormously influential in Japan. Crows only became a theme among Japanese artists from the later 1500s onward. They likely were inspired by these imported Chinese paintings of myna birds, which are not native to Japan, substituting the native species of crow instead.  The best known early examples of the depiction of Japanese crows are two Momoyama screen...