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School of Ogata Korin Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, early 18th century

Offered by: Thomsen Gallery

Description
School of Ogata Korin
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, early 18th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, colors and gofun on paper
Size each screen 65¼ x 142½ in. (165.5 x 362 cm)
T-1009L

The artist has created a luxurious scene of the four seasons with a dense undergrowth of flowering plants and trees, which conceals not only additional flora, but also a pair of quail and pheasants.

The spring flowers are wisteria, willow, thistle, kodamari, suzushiro, shakuyaku, and kobushi. The summer plants are represented by iris, lily, peony, an eggplant, mizuaoi, uri, and tsuyukusa. The autumn plants include bush clover, morning glory, gourds, and susuki, kikyō, keitō, nadeshiko, ominaeshi, kuzu. The sole winter plant is the pine. The autumn season is clearly favored, with the autumn flowers spread over both screens.

A favorite technique of Korin and Rimpa artists can be seen here, namely tarashikomi, a process of dripping ink of differing modality into ink and mineral pigments that have not yet dried, thus producing a mottled effect. In addition, the ink modalities are carefully varied in order to create a convincing sense of depth to the leafy undergrowth. There is clearly articulated layering of leaves, important in a work with this many leaves and flowers arranged on top of each other in a small space. The frame has the fine original hardware.

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Message from Seller:

Thomsen Gallery, now located at 8 East 67th Street, New York City, NY 10065, specializes in important Japanese paintings, folding screens, hanging scrolls, ceramics, ikebana bamboo baskets, lacquerware, and contemporary works by select artists. Owned and directed by Erik and Cornelia Thomsen, the gallery brings decades of expertise in Japanese art to a global clientele, including private collectors and major museums. For inquiries, contact them at 212-288-2588 or info@thomsengallery.com.