Shijô
Rainy landscapeSigned: Bunrin ga
Seals: Bunrin Shion
Technique: sumi on paper 34,3 x 49,4
Date: Spring day of 1846
Mounting: blue satin and beige silk 126 x 52,8
Box: Authorized?
Condition: mounting faintly stained, otherwise very good
This rainy landscape shows all the skill that he learned from his teacher Toyohiko.
If any one artist created Nihonga it would be Bunrin. He explored the boundaries of the Maruyama-Shijô style and searched for new interpretations in the Nanga style. On top of that he experimented with new painting methods. Through Kôno Bairei (1844-1895), his most prominent pupil, his influence reached well into the twentieth century.
Bunrin’s father was in the service of the Takatsukase family. When in 1820 both his parents died he was sent to Kyoto to study painting. Soon thereafter the head of the Takatsukase family recognized his talent and arranged a place in Toyohiko’s studio (together with a lifetime allowance of rice). He received his training in the Maruyama -Shijô style, but at least as important was his access to Toyohiko’s ‘mythical’ box of copies.
Reference:
Roberts p. 11
Araki pp. 689-90
Kyoto '98 p. 280
Berry & Morioka ‘99 pp. 58-62 (# 1)
Berry & Morioka ‘08 p. (# 66)
Conant p. 321
Price: SOLD
