Collection

Autumn among Trees

SHIMOMURA, Kanzan

1907

Information

Title
Autumn among Trees
Artist
SHIMOMURA, Kanzan View artist Information
Year
1907
Collection
Transferred from ME
Medium
color on paper, a pair of two-fold screens
Size(cm)
each 169.5×169.6
Collection ID no.
J00006

Commentary

The composition of this work, a grove of trees on a gold ground, can also be found in works by the early modern Rimpa style of painting. Similarly, the motifs of kudzu in bloom, an undergrowth of pampas grass, and the lilies concealed by thegrass, are all consistent with those in Sakai Hoitsu’s famous screen Flowering Plants of Summer and Autumn (Tokyo National Museum Collection). In other words, the picture seems to have been strongly influenced by Rimpa, but unlike the infinite spaces in the school’s work, the gold in Shimomura’s painting is used as light that filters through to the other side of the trees and also helps create the massive expression. By combining Rimpa, which was rediscovered during this era, with Western-style realistic expression, this ambitious work regenerated existing elements to realize a new form of Nihon-ga.

Page Top