Arcadia's Light

artemisdreaming:

Parody of Matsukaze and Murasame
Japanese1789–1818 (about latter half of Kansei era to first half of Bunka era) Kubo Shunman Image: 95.3 x 32.5 cm (37 1/2 x 12 13/16 in.) Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Detail

Parody of Matsukaze and Murasame

Japanese
1789–1818 (about latter half of Kansei era to first half of Bunka era)
Kubo Shunman
Image: 95.3 x 32.5 cm (37 1/2 x 12 13/16 in.)
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Detail

artemisdreaming:

The White Lotus, Edo period, 19th century

Sakai Hoitsu

artemisdreaming:

Flowers of Autumn at Water’s Edge
By Keibun Matsumura (1779-1843)
Edo Period, 18th-19th century
Color on silk
51 x 127 cm
Cat. 265993
© The Field Museum

In the Japanese art tradition, different plants represent different seasons. This painting creates an evocative fall ambience through its delicate depiction of a group of fall plants. The long-stemmed pampas grass elegantly arches over against a full autumn moon, under which white chrysanthemums, smaller blue Chinese balloon flowers, and the eye-catching pink hibiscus are gently dangling at water’s edge. The hibiscus blossoms are carefully drawn in outline. The finely gradated and blended pink and white color on the petals successfully defines the complexity of the petals. At the bottom, insects crawl on the lower branches, and rocks stand in the water. The four basic elements of Chinese bird-and-flower painting — insects, rocks, flowers and grasses—are beautifully coordinated and composed into a classical depiction of autumn.

Keibun is regarded as one of the best representatives of the Shijo school, especially known for his kachoga, bird-and-flower paintings, which he often drew directly from nature. He studied painting with his older brother Goshun (1752-1811), a founder of the Shijo school who combined the realism of the Maruyama school with the idealism of Nanga painting, and with Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795), the founder of the Maruyama school. (Commentary by Juan Peng)

Detail

“White Falcon”

Quing Dynasty , China

(The last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China) Collection of the National Palace Museum (Taiwan).

The white falcon is minutely rendered in Chinese white, and the pine tree and rocks in the background are executed in the Chinese painting style. This is an outstanding work indicating the synthesis of Western and Chinese painting styles.

Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), Lang Shih-ning by Chinese name, was a native of Milan, Italy. He became a Jesuit missionary at the age of twenty-seven and went to China, where he served as a court painter (in 1715) under three Ch’ing emperors, namely K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung for 51years. He was skilled in painting human figures and flowers-and-birds and animals, especially in painting horses, and became the favorite of the painting circles of the times with his minutely realistic works utilizing the Western style of painting (via Niceday’s wonderful ” IMAGINARY-MUSEUM “: 06/2011)