Lot 266: KAWABATA GYOKUSHÔ (1842-1913), A KAKEMONO

ink and colour on silk, depicting the head of a sea bream (tai), signed Gyokushô and sealed, with fitted box signed by his pupil Painted by the honourable teacher Gyokushô as confirmed by his later pupil Ryûshô and sealed

62.5 x 136.5cm

Ellen P. Conant, Nihonga, transcending the past, 1995; Roberts, L. P., A dictionary of Japanese artists, 1976

Born into a family of lacquer artists, Gyokushô became a leading painter in the Tokyo art world. He exhibited and won prizes at various exhibitions and briefly studied Western painting under Charles Wirgman. Gyokushô taught at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts for over two decades and also had his own painting school. Many of his pupils later became well known artists themselves. It is said that Gyokushô considered shasei (sketching from life) and shai (capturing the essence) as key elements in painting.