Mid-18th Century Japanese Screen Pair, One Hundred Flowers, Chrysanthemums

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...

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