Posts by Richard Kruml:
Watanabe SEITEI ( 1852-1918 )
Click here to view image full size.
Seitei ( Shotei ) specialised in kachoga; was famous in this area, and regarded as the leading exponent. Technically brilliant. Shows two tancho ( “red crest” ) Japanese cranes flying down to a field suffused with the yellow of ripening rice. This crane ( Grus japonensis ) is the second rarest crane in the world, migrating to East Asia in the fall to spend the winter. There is also a resident flock in Hokkaido. Much loved by the Japanese, the crane was a symbol of luck, longevity and fidelity.Full colour on silk, 46 x 19.5 in; 117 x 49.5 cms. One small spot and minor loss of gofun on the rice, otherwise very good condition.
Signed and sealed Seitei. A beautiful composition.
Status: Sold
Katsukawa SHUNSHO ( 1726-1792 )
Click here to view image full size. An extremely important painting by one of the most important artists of his day. One of the great ukiyo-e print designers – especially of actor prints. He lived in Edo and first studied under Katsukawa Shunsui and Ko Sukoku. Little is known of his private life. He had […]
Kawamura BUMPO (1779-1821)
Click here to view image full size. A pair of paintings, shosha and gyosha, a wood-chopper and fisherman in a mountainous landscape. Sumi on paper, image size 42.25 x 10.9 in; 108.3 x 27.7 cms. A highly talented Shijo painter and haiku poet who studied under Kishi Ganku and was much influenced by Chinese painting […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing the back view of a courtesan and her assistant. The poem is by Shokusanjin: It is all because of you who is blooming, flowers and the moon in this quarter seem prosperous Shokusanjin This appears to have been painted during his Sori period at […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi on paper, 35 x 11 in; 88.9 x 28 cms. A view of Matsuchiyama from Imadobashi with bands of low lying mist. This area is depicted on many Hiroshige prints. Painted c. 1850. In very good condition. The mounting cloth is wasarasa, Japanese batik, […]
Manjiro HOKUGA (Fl. early to mid 19th century)
Click here to view image full size. A large original painting, full colour on silk, 11.5 x 34.5 in; 29.2 x 87.7 cms. Shows Tametomo, a famed archer of extraordinary strength who was exiled to Oshima by the Emperor. During his sojourn Tametomo discovered Onigashima, an island inhabited by devils who he subordinated. News of […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. A fine original fan painting showing a woman of Ohara; a mountain village north of Kyoto. These Oharame collected brushwood and firewood in the fall to sell in Kyoto. They are often depicted and obviously caused a stir when they entered Kyoto to ply their trade. The custom […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing Hotei, the God of happiness and one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck (Shichi-fuku-jin). The corpulent Hotei reclines contentedly smoking a long pipe. Beside him is his huge bag (hotei literally means “cloth bag”) which contained the treasures and food he dispersed. Sumi […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting in sumi with touches of green and pale blue. Image size 50 x 17 in; 127 x 43.2 cms on paper. Shows the Mount Haruna area which also has Mount Myogi and Mount Akagi. Depicts the strange peaks surrounded by swirling mist and cloud. The […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A fine and important painting of the autumn moon at Ishiyama. Ishiyama Temple seen to the left and Seta Bridge to the right with Mount Fuji in the distance. The view is very close to that for the design Ishiyama no shugetsu, from the Omi Hakkei […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, light colour on paper, 13 x 16.5 in; 33 x 42 cms. Shows a sparrow flying over a flowering plum tree. Light soil and creasing, but in generally good condition. Signed Hokusai suichu hitsu, “Hokusai painted while drunk.” Sealed Katsushika. (One of his better-known seals. […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. An original fan painting, sumi on treated paper, 17.5 x 5.5 in; 44.5 x 14 cms. Shows two dogs – possibly Chin. In very good condition: As nearly always, showing the rib folds of the fan. Tipped onto gold-speckled board. Signed and sealed Yoshitoshi. Status: Sold
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and very light blue on silk, 40 x 15.25 in; 101.6 x 38.7 cms. Shows the moon reflected in the Tama river with spring ayu (sweet water fish) swimming beneath Japanese papyrus growing in the water. A beautiful painting. One small foxing mark, […]
Shibata GITO (1780-1819)
Click here to view image full size. A fine Shijo handscroll, sumi and light colour on paper, 11.13 x 423.5 in; 28.26 cm x 10.76 metres. Gito was an early pupil of Goshun who, although he died young, produced enough work to show him to be a highly gifted artist with great ability in landscape, […]
Kubo SHUNMAN (1757-1820)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing a sparrow taunting a horned owl. Shunman, a man of great sophistication, produced few prints (indeed, as Jack Hillier pointed out [The Japanese Print: A New Approach, pp. 102-104]: “Probably no artist except Choki has achieved so high a reputation on such a small […]
Shibata ZESHIN (1807-1891)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting of a somewhat benign Raijin, the god of thunder and lightening. His geta are on a shelf and a cat watches him. There appears to be a cloth-covered mirror at the extreme left. This could almost be some sort of green room view. Zeshin was […]
Kishi GANTAI (1782-1865)
Click here to view image full size. A superb large gajo (11 x 8 in; 28 x 20.4 cms) of tour de force paintings folding out to comprise: 30 two-sheet designs; 14 four-sheet designs; 2 six-sheet designs; 1 eight-sheet design, making a total of 136 sheets in sumi and light colour on paper. Gantai was […]
Numata GESSAI (UTAMASA) (1787-1864)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing a geisha looking back over her shoulder as though surprised. The kimono is beautifully painted with waves and cherry blossom in gofun. Full colour on paper, 50 x 20.25 in; 127 x 51.4 cms. He first studied under Maki Bokusen, then Hokusai during his […]
Nishiyama HOEN (1804-1867)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing the oiran Eguchi on a white elephant. The origins of this story seem to go back to a recorded conversation the poet-monk Saigyo (1118-1190) had with a prostitute named Eguchi giving rise to numerous legends. Eguchi is shown as a manifestation of the Budhisattva […]
Yamaguchi SOKEN (1759-1818)
Click here to view image full size. A fine pair of paintings: One showing women of Ohara; a mountain village north of Kyoto. These Oharame collected brushwood and firewood in the fall to sell in Kyoto. They are often depicted and obviously caused a stir when they entered Kyoto to ply their trade. Evidently the […]
Nagasawa ROSETSU (1754-1799)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, 47.25 x 16 in; 120 x 40.5 cms. Sumi and touches of very light colour on paper. Shows cranes flying in a mountainous landscape. Rosetsu is considered one of the most important artists of the late Edo period but little is known of his short […]
Imao KEINEN (1845-1924)
Click here to view image full size. Probably the best known artist of his time and famous for his realistic depictions of birds and flowers. Two koi or carp swim beneath a rock with an overhanging white mountain rose. Ink, colour, gofun and gold on silk. Original mount with ivory rollers. A double kiri-wood box […]
Watanabe NANGAKU (1767-1813)
Click here to view image full size. A large original painting, full colour on silk, image size 46 x 21.75 in; 116.8 x 55.2 cms. This impressive painting shows two courtesans of the Shimbara (red-light) district of Kyoto and their attendants. Nangaku was one of Maruyama Okyo’s best pupils showing great dexterity in impromptu sketches […]
Teisai HOKUBA (1771-1844)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on silk, image size 37.5 x 12.75in; 95.2 x 32.3 cms. One of Hokusai’s earliest and best pupils. Produced a few surimono, also illustrated books, but is best known for his paintings of bijin, often shown promenading along the Sumida River, as here. […]
Mori SOSEN (1747-1821)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on silk, image size 32 x 11.5 in; 81.3 x 29.2 cms. His life is not well documented but he is known to have studied under the Kano artist Yamamoto Joshunsai (? -1781) before being drawn into Mauyama Okyo’s (1735-1795) artistic […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An important original Hiroshige painting. Sumi and colour on grey silk, 22.5 x 13.75 inches, 57 x 35 cms. An atmospheric scene showing an evening view at Tamegawa. Villagers hurrying home across a bridge to avoid an approaching thunderstorm. Lightning flashing above. This is a well known painting […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. A fine painting, sumi on paper, showing three crows on the boughs of a willow tree. Crows were one of Kyosai’s favourite subjects and, apart from paintings, he used them in various formats: fan prints, oban and dai-oban prints. There are also numerous copies of his crow paintings. […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on silk, image size 41.25 x 16.2 in; 114.8 x 41 cms. A draughtsman of great dexterity with a wild, often bizarre, imagination. Loved sake, sometimes painting under its influence. At an early stage studied under Kuniyoshi, then Maemura Towa and later Kano […]
Maki BOKUSEN (1736-1814)
Click here to view image full size. A fine original painting, full colour on silk, 40.5 x 12.5 in; 102.9 x 31.7 cms showing a beauty reading a long (love ?) letter. Her maid on the floor beside her. Bokusen was a pupil of both Utamaro and Hokusai although he had an independent style with […]
Matsui KEICHU (Active 1785-1819)
Click here to view image full size. A wonderful original painting, full colour on silk, image size 35 x 12.75 in; 89 x 32.5 cms. Shows three of the leading actors around 1800: Segawa Kikunojo III (above); Iwai Kumesaburo I (below left); Ichikawa Hakuen I (below right). The first two onnagata dressed in female attire. […]
Katsushika TAITO II (Active c. 1810-1853)
Click here to view image full size. An original fan painting, sumi and light colour on prepared paper, 7.5 x 21.5 in; 19 x 54.5 cms. Shows a badger disguised as a priest. This is the same story as is illustrated in Yoshitoshi’s Shingata sanjurokkaisen, “Thirty-six Supernatural Beings in New Forms” showing the badger at […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on paper, 48.75 x 13.75 in; 124 x 35 cms. Shows Kintaro (aka Sakata no Kintoki) riding a large Chinese shishi lion. Kintaro was a child of prodigious strength who had a vermillion-coloured body. He is often depicted with the mountain creatures from […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A fine and large original painting, sumi and light colour on silk. Image size 45.5 x 20.25 in; 115.5 x 51.5 cms. Shows Kato Toranosuke (1562-1611) and Yamaji Shogen (1546-1583) locked in combat having fallen over a cliff into a river. A full moon above. Toranosuke (Kiyomasa), a […]
Ishikawa TOYONOBU (1711-1785)
Click here to view image full size. A very fine original painting, sumi and colour on paper with extensive laquer and a large emossed gold floral pattern on the bijin’s kimono; other areas in gold. Image size 35.25 x 17.75 in; 89.5 x 45 cms. Shows an elegant beauty holding up an haori to slip […]
Utagawa KUNITSUGU (1800-1861)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and colour on silk with extensive splashed and applied gofun. Image size 29.25 x 13.25 in; 74.25 x 33.75 cms. A rare pupil of Toyokuni. Another fine painting by him is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art showing Lady Tokiwa fleeing with her children […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on paper, image size 13.5 x 20 in; 34.3 x 50.8 cms. Shows the Shiraito no Taki waterfall at Hakone. The water, originating from Mount Fuji, flows over the edge of a 20 meter high cliff in thin white streams reminiscent […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi on paper, image size 36.75 x 12 in; 93.3 x 31.7 cms. A draughtsman of great dexterity with a wild, often bizzare, imagination. Loved sake, sometimes painting under its influence. At an early stage studied under Kuniyoshi, then Maemura Towa and later Kao Chinshin […]
Nishiyama KAN’EI (1834-1897)
Click here to view image full size. A gajo (album) of 21 original paintings by Nishiyama Kan’ei, the son and pupil of Nishiyama Hoen. They both worked in Osaka and Kan’ei carried on the Shijo school tradition. Relatively few paintings and drawings by Kan’ei survive but based on these and his fine Kan’ei gafu, published […]
Katsukawa SHUNSHO (1726?-1792)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and full colour on silk, 32.25 x 10 in; 82 x 25.5 cms. An important print artist and his paintings being considered one of the glories of Ukiyo-e. Produced a considerable number of hosoban actor prints from the late 1760s on as well as […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on silk, 13.5 x 20.5 in; 34.5 x 52 cms. Shows the renowned Husband and Wife rocks, Meoto Iwa, “Married Couple Stones,” off Futami, Mie, Japan. At this time – c. late 1840s – many thin ropes were used to tie […]