Lot 349: Kondo Koichiro (1884-1962) Circa 1936

Circa 1936
Kakejiku, in ink and colour on silk, with a poetic image of a paulownia grove under the grey cloudy sky, the flowers bloom with a tubular purple corolla in the morning mist in early spring, signed Dohitsukyo ni oite, Koichiro sha (At Dohitsukyo, painted by Koichiro) with seal; with double tomobako titled Torin kaika ji (The time of bloom of paulownia grove) and signed by the artist Dohitsukyo ni oite, Koichiro dai with seal Koichiro. 48.5cm x 56.5cm (19 1/8in x 22¼in). (3).

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Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Kondo Koichiro studied at the Tokyo Fine Arts School and started his career as a Western-style painter. After graduation, he took a position as a cartoonist at the Yomiuri Newspaper for a living. Gradually moving his work towards Japanese-style painting, his works started entering the exhibitions of the Japan Art Institute (Inten) from 1919 until 1936. After he travelled to Europe and China in 1922, he became increasingly aware of being Japanese, which affected his works thereafter. The painting offered as this lot was produced at his atelier named Dohitsukyo in Higashi Kurume City, Tokyo.

The artist's works are in the collection of the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.