R80,000 - R120,000
A SET OF VERTICAL "BIRDS AND FLOWERS OF THE SEASONS" SCROLLS JOINED AS A SIX-LEAF SCREEN "BYOBU", YAMAMOTO BAIITSU, EDO PERIOD, 1783 - 1856
Each rectangular ink and colour-on-silk panel vertically arranged to form a continuous landscape of birds within their natural habits to include: a nightingale perched in a gnarled blossoming prunus with clumps of daffodils at the base; a duck beneath an overhanging rockery issuing drooping pink chrysanthemums; a pair of red-crested cranes before a large pine tree; a lone egret standing within a lotus pond amongst large lotus leaves and pods; a colourful bird grooming itself on the branch of a blossoming tree peony; a white azalea and red honeysuckle issuing from a rocky outcrop with a pair of long-tailed swallows nestling amongst the leaves, each panel enclosed by a gold-leaf and black-brocade paper border hinged as a screen, each panel signed and sealed Yamamoto Baiitsu
each panel 170cm x 64cm
cf Christie's, Japanese and Korean Art, Live Auction 2426, Lot 872, March 23, 2011, New York
LOT ESSAY
Yamamoto Baiitsu mingled with Kyoto literati circles but also sought varied artistic influences in the work of Chinese painter Shen Nanpin (Shen Quan, 1682–1758), who worked in Japan from 1731 to 1733, and other Chinese artists known in Japan. He transformed what he learned into an idiosyncratic style characterized by a sensuous surface quality and serene clarity. Distinctive to his technique was an inclination to use ink in the same manner in which colors were customarily applied — not only for linear brushwork but also for soft washes. Skillfully combining ink wash with washes of color and well-defined, sinuous contours, he contributed a lyrical, intimate vision of nature to Literati (Nanga) painting
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