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Japanese Tosa School Scroll: Tale of Genji browse these categories for related items... All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese: Pre 1920: item # 154205 Please refer to our stock # 7-116 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book SOLD |
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| Meiji period scroll painting executed in Tosa style with scene from “Genji Monogatari” (“Tale of Genji”), the famous novel written by Lady Murasaki in the eleventh century. Rich mineral pigment color on silk with extensive signature and seal in lower left corner; unidentified artist. Red lacquer scroll ends. Since the time it was written in the Heian period, the Genji Monogatari has supplied inspiration for painting motifs. The story portrays the elegant and romantic atmosphere of Heian court life and the dramatic passages through the seasons of the year of the courtship and sorrows of Prince Genji. The manner for depicting this courtly romance was always detailed and conservative, in the distinctive native style of painting known as “Yamato-e.” From the fifteenth century onwards, the official court painters in this style were the Tosa school, one of Japan’s most famous schools of painting. Scroll paintings executed in the typical Tosa style of Yamato-e show human figures, houses, trees and other objects outlined with delicate and precise black brush lines and filled in with dense bright colors. Yamato-e painters throughout the centuries had specialized in such courtly scenes as the Genji theme, establishing certain characteristic compositional techniques and descriptive formulas for figures and faces. The men and women wear the elegant and graceful clothes of the time and spend their time in places surrounded by beautiful scenery or inside their gorgeous noblemen’s residences built in Heian architectural style. This lovely scroll painting incorporates elements long associated with the Yamato-e artists of the Tosa school, such as the Heian-style court dress and the open-roof scene shown from a bird’s-eye view. The scene is viewed from above in the peculiar perspective device called “fukinuki yatai” or “roofless houses.” This unique style of illustration gives an oblique view from above with roof omitted, permitting an unobstructed picture of the interior. There are also misty cloud formations in corners of the painting, indicative of another Yamato-e pictorial convention known as “kasumi,” used to denote the shifting of scenes or the passage of time. Condition of the painting is excellent, with wonderful detail and effective color harmony. There are just a few small toning spots on the painting and some minor wear on the silk mounting. Dimensions: Painting: 12” high x 22 ¾” wide. Scroll: 44” long x 16 ½” wide. | |||||||||||
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