Treasures by Rinpa Masters
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| Wind God by Ogata Korin |
Korin and Co. show another dimension of traditional Japanese art
When it comes to appreciating traditional Japanese art, foreigners and Japanese are often on different pages. We usually prefer ukiyo-e woodblock prints and confidently assert that the greatest Japanese artists are Katsushika Hokusai or Utagawa Hiroshige. The Japanese, by contrast, while flattered by our keen interest in their ukiyo-e, tend to prefer the great fine art of the Rinpa masters, who expressed themselves in highly stylized, decorative works.
To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the birth of Ogata Korin (1658-1716), usually considered the greatest of the Rinpa masters, the Tokyo National Museum is holding a extensive exhibition that presents about 40 of his works–although not all at once–along with those of the movement’s founders, Hon’ami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (ca.1600-1640), and artists subsequently influenced by him.
Although Korin is the focus of this exhibition, such is the jealousy surrounding his works that the best one’s are not available, or are only on display for a short time. For example, his paintings of irises are highly esteemed for the subtle way they refer to the Ise Monogatari (The Tales of Ise), a series of poems on love and travel. Visitors to the earlier part of the exhibition could have seen Irises, an excellent pair of six-paneled gold-covered screens, with only dark blue and green used to depict the plants.
This was a perfect example of Korin’s trademark style of delicate, low-key paintings of plants and flowers using high-key materials, like color on gold. Unfortunately, due to a frenetic rotation schedule, this work has now returned to the Nezu Museum, which is also probably very keen to commemorate the 350th anniversary of its biggest breadwinner.
A trace of Korin’s great screen can be seen in a slightly faded scroll painting of the same name, as well as a maki-e lacquer writing box, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, showing the famous Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges) from the Ise Monogatari. Another echo can be found in Sakai Hoitsu’s pair of six-paneled gold screens The Eight Planked Bridge, a 19th-century homage to Korin’s work.
Like all traditional artists, Korin wasn’t above a bit of imitation himself. One of his less typical works, but impressive nonetheless, is Wind and Thunder Gods, a pair of two-paneled screens depicting a couple of energetic-looking meteorological deities. As this belongs to the Tokyo National Museum, it is on display throughout the exhibition, along with its eponymous progenitor by Tawaraya Sotatsu and two 19th century versions by Hoitsu and Suzuki Kiitsu.
Although the selection of Korin works is disappointing, the works by other Rinpa artists helps to compensate, although here too the rotation schedule has cast its blight. Thankfully, Tawaraya Sotatsu’s delightfully stylized Cedar Doors with White Elephant and Chinese Lion is too big to be easily rotated and will be present throughout the exhibition. In works like this and Sotatsu’s Cherry Blossoms and Poppies, four sliding wall panels with color on gold, we can see the essence of Rinpa–stylization and decoration for aesthetic effect. This is exactly the reasons why Rinpa is so beloved by Japanese but less appreciated by foreigners.
Compared to a highly detailed Hokusai, crowded with visual data on fashions, hairstyles, lifestyles, architecture, and landscape, Rinpa art lacks the flood of information that those keen to understand Japan crave. The subtle, “silent,” and often minimalist gold screens and scrolls of the Rinpa masters, while providing a mysterious aesthetic thrill, do little to feed our foreign hunger for the sights, sounds, and details of this mysterious civilization we find ourselves amongst. Much more satisfying for our crude gaijin eye is the visual brick-a-brack of a good ukiyo-e. If you want to take your appreciation of Japanese art to a higher level, however, this might be the exhibition for you.
C.B.Liddell
Metropolis
7th November, 2008
To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the birth of Ogata Korin (1658-1716), usually considered the greatest of the Rinpa masters, the Tokyo National Museum is holding a extensive exhibition that presents about 40 of his works–although not all at once–along with those of the movement’s founders, Hon’ami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (ca.1600-1640), and artists subsequently influenced by him.
Although Korin is the focus of this exhibition, such is the jealousy surrounding his works that the best one’s are not available, or are only on display for a short time. For example, his paintings of irises are highly esteemed for the subtle way they refer to the Ise Monogatari (The Tales of Ise), a series of poems on love and travel. Visitors to the earlier part of the exhibition could have seen Irises, an excellent pair of six-paneled gold-covered screens, with only dark blue and green used to depict the plants.
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| Irises by Ogata Korin |
This was a perfect example of Korin’s trademark style of delicate, low-key paintings of plants and flowers using high-key materials, like color on gold. Unfortunately, due to a frenetic rotation schedule, this work has now returned to the Nezu Museum, which is also probably very keen to commemorate the 350th anniversary of its biggest breadwinner.
A trace of Korin’s great screen can be seen in a slightly faded scroll painting of the same name, as well as a maki-e lacquer writing box, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, showing the famous Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges) from the Ise Monogatari. Another echo can be found in Sakai Hoitsu’s pair of six-paneled gold screens The Eight Planked Bridge, a 19th-century homage to Korin’s work.
Like all traditional artists, Korin wasn’t above a bit of imitation himself. One of his less typical works, but impressive nonetheless, is Wind and Thunder Gods, a pair of two-paneled screens depicting a couple of energetic-looking meteorological deities. As this belongs to the Tokyo National Museum, it is on display throughout the exhibition, along with its eponymous progenitor by Tawaraya Sotatsu and two 19th century versions by Hoitsu and Suzuki Kiitsu.
Although the selection of Korin works is disappointing, the works by other Rinpa artists helps to compensate, although here too the rotation schedule has cast its blight. Thankfully, Tawaraya Sotatsu’s delightfully stylized Cedar Doors with White Elephant and Chinese Lion is too big to be easily rotated and will be present throughout the exhibition. In works like this and Sotatsu’s Cherry Blossoms and Poppies, four sliding wall panels with color on gold, we can see the essence of Rinpa–stylization and decoration for aesthetic effect. This is exactly the reasons why Rinpa is so beloved by Japanese but less appreciated by foreigners.
Compared to a highly detailed Hokusai, crowded with visual data on fashions, hairstyles, lifestyles, architecture, and landscape, Rinpa art lacks the flood of information that those keen to understand Japan crave. The subtle, “silent,” and often minimalist gold screens and scrolls of the Rinpa masters, while providing a mysterious aesthetic thrill, do little to feed our foreign hunger for the sights, sounds, and details of this mysterious civilization we find ourselves amongst. Much more satisfying for our crude gaijin eye is the visual brick-a-brack of a good ukiyo-e. If you want to take your appreciation of Japanese art to a higher level, however, this might be the exhibition for you.
C.B.Liddell
Metropolis
7th November, 2008
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