Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions, Nihonga from the Griffith and Patricia Way Collection [Hardcover]

Michiyo Morioka (Author), Paul Berry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2000

Modern Japanese painting executed in traditional media and formats, or nihonga, developed in post-Meiji Restoration Japan to distinguish traditional art from Western-style oil painting. "Modern Masters of Kyoto" presents more than 80 examples of nihonga from Kyoto - hanging scrolls, screens, and an album - dating from the 1860s to the 1940s. Focusing on two exceptionally original artists, Tsuji Kako (1870-1931) and his pupil Tomita Keisen (1879-1936), the volume includes works by their predecessors, their contemporaries, and their successors. More than 40 artists are introduced with a biography, and featured paintings are discussed in the context of the artists' careers and their time. Also included are illustrated essays on the neglected topic of connoisseurship concerning boxes and box inscriptions, with an appendix of seals and signatures. The book introduces Western readers to Kyoto artists, some of whom have yet to be studied even in Japan. Their often visually stunning paintings - most of which have never been published - provide a window from which to glimpse both the past and the modern in Japanese art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This catalog, published in conjunction with an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, features more than 80 works of over 40 Kyoto nihonga artists in the Griffith and Patricia Way Collection. Focusing principally (but not exclusively) on two central figures, Tsuji Kako and his pupil Tomita Keisen, the catalog successfully explains the evolution of the Kyoto nihonga style. Essays by scholars bring to light the fundamental elements related to this late 19th-century and early 20th-century art movement, a painting style influenced by Western and yet anchored in Japanese tradition. Contributors discuss a wide range of issues that provide the crucial context for this work. Stunning full-color illustrations are accompanied by biographical information about each artist and short, narrative entries on his or her work. Edited by two Japanese art historians, and containing a chart of nihonga-related institutions and major exhibitions, this book could stand proudly on the shelf of any research library.ALucia S. Chen, NYPL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Seattle Art Museum (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932216536
• ISBN-13: 978-0932216533
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,323,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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