Neagiri Tomiji Screen Painting of a Mother Cat & Kittens

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Neagiri Tomiji Screen Painting of a Mother Cat & Kittens

About the Item

Byobu or folding screen in two panels, painted on silk in sumi ink, gofun or clam shell gesso and mineral pigments with a summer scene of a mother cat surrounded by her five kittens in a garden. Signed on the lower left by the artist: Tomiji, and sealed (Neagiri Tomiji, 1895 – 1981). With roiro mirror-polished, black lacquer frames. Late Taisho – early Showa era, circa 1922 – 1935. Born in Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture, Neagiri Tomiji began studying painting under Onuki Hakudo while still in junior high school. After graduation in 1913, he entered the Tokyo School of Fine Art to study under Yuki Somei. In 1921, he first had a painting accepted into the government-sponsored exhibitions with the 3rd Teiten. The following year he graduated from the university and his exhibition work at the 4th Teiten won the tokusen or gold prize. In 1925, he again won the tokusen at the 6th Teiten. He continued to show at the Teiten in subsequent years and was awarded mukansa or non-vetted status at the exhibition in 1928. In 1935, the government commissioned him to paint a mural of “The Meiji Emperor Touring Mutsu and Dewa Provinces” for the Seitoku Gallery (Seitoku Kinen Kaigakan) of the Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu Gaien) in Tokyo. In 1938, Neagiri along with such artists as Kawasaki Shoko and Mochizuki Junko helped found the Nihonga-in association of painters. He also taught lowerclassmen at the Imperial Art School (Teikoku Bijutsu Gakko, present-day Musashino Art University), where he later became a professor. In 1941, he became a judge for the Shin-Bunten Exhibition. During the Pacific War, he evacuated to Tsuruoka near his hometown in Yamagata and continued to paint. After the end of the War, he became a judge for the Nitten Art Exhibition. The artist’s paintings are in the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and the University Art Museum at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Neagiri Tomiji frames this study of a mother cat and kittens with an elegant use of empty space. Against a pale yellow ground, the cats nestle in a loosely triangular group. A young Japanese bitter melon vine (tsuru reishi) arcs over the scene from the left, its yellow blossom echoing the warm light of early summer. The crisply rendered foliage contrasts with the softly brushed fur of the felines below. Three sleep quietly, while a fourth peers barely awake from the rear. Their mother stares intently at the lone truant playing below the vine on the left, her gaze meeting his and tying the composition together. The 1920s and early 1930s in Japan saw a flowering of naturalist painting. One branch of this focuses on portraits of cats and dogs, an interest rarely met with in earlier Japanese art. These seem sometimes to represent private commissions from loving owners. However, the best of these paintings rise well above such emotional chords. Neagiri Tomiji’s cats seem indolent and soft, until one looks at their mother’s eyes and realizes the intelligent amusement behind the painter’s delicate brush. opened flat.

Creator:
Neagari Tomiji (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 68.63 in (174.33 cm)Width: 66.5 in (168.91 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Style:
Taisho (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Circa 1928
Condition:
Seller Location:
Orcas, WA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU9589741795