Lot 304: Mori Koga (1790-1864) Two Beauties in an Autumn Rainshower

Two Beauties in an Autumn Rainshower
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk; featuring the two figures sheltering from light rain under an open umbrella, as delicate red leaves scatter from a nearby maple tree; signed Mizunoto hitsuji moka Kikutei Gyokusen shai (Early summer of 1823, painted by Kikutei Gyokusen) with seals Gyoku and Sen; together with a wooden tomobako.
41 1/2 x 14 3/8in (105.4 x 36.5cm)

Mori Koga was born in Nagoya. After studying with Yoshikawa Ikkei (dates unknown), he focused on the nanga style, under the tutelage of Nakabayashi Chikuto (1776-1853), then ukiyoe nikuhitsu, with Maki Bokusen (1773-1824). It was Bokusen who introduced to Nagoya the ukiyoe style that he first learned from Kitagawa Utamaro, then Katsushika Hokusai. It is the latter whose influence we see expressed most strongly in this example.