Nihonga
Bare trees and birdsSigned: Shunsô
Seals: Shunsô
Technique: sumi and red on silk 49,4 x 63
Mounting: light grey damask and grey silk 155 x 78,5
Condition: fine
Formerly in the collection of Robert Woods Bliss who passed it on to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art after he and his wife specialized on pre-Columbian art. Robert Woods Bliss (1875-1962) was an American diplomat, art collector, philanthropist, and one of the cofounders of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, D.C.
Shunsô was born in Nagano-ken. In 1895 he graduated from The Tokyo School of Fine Arts where he studied with Hashimoto Gahô (1835-1908). In 1898 with his former school director Okakura Tenshin (1863-1913) and some of his classmates they founded the Nihon Bijiutsuin. During 1903-1904 with his friend Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958) he travelled to India, the U.S. and Europe. After their return they experimented with a style called môrôtai bossen, dimness style. no outlines and western manners like chiaroscuro (Clair-obscure).
In 1908 his eyesight start to deteriorate and he had to stop painting. After a brief recovery he died of a kidney disease in 1911 completely blind.
Reference:
Ôtsu 1994 (Taikan & Shunsô )
Conant p. 296-7
Price: SOLD
