Flowers 花木図屏風

Object Details

• Artist

  Watanabe Shiko 渡辺始興 (1683-1755)

• School/Tradition

  Rinpa

• Description

  A two-fold paper screen depicting flowers and plants of spring and autumn against a gold ground. In the right panel, from upper right, are: white wisteria blossoms (shiro-fuji), the nadeshiko (dianthus japonicus), a wild chrysanthemum (nogiku), red and white poppies (keshi) and hollyhocks (tachi'aoi).

  In the left panel above the lilies (yuri) and white shrub bushclovers (shirahagi) and below, morning glories (asagao) and the miscanthus reeds (kaya plants) linking the two panels. Further below are Chinese bellflowers (kikyo) and melon (uri). On the lower left of the left panel is a signature, followed by a square intaglio seal.

• Signatures

  On the lower left of the left panel is a signature reading "Watanabe Shiko."

• Marks

  Adjacent to the signature on the lower left is a square intaglio seal "Shiko no in: Seal of Shiko."

• Label

  The brilliant colors and simplified composition of this screen recall the style of the Rimpa school, which flourished from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries.

  The artist shows his concern for naturalistic placement of the flowers as though they were growing in a field. Portrayed in realistic detail are white wisteria, pinks, wild chrysanthemums, red and white poppies, hollyhocks, lilies, white bush clover, morning glories, reeds, Chinese bellflowers, and melon flowers. Associated with the seasons of spring and autumn, many of these flowers were also themes of Japanese poetry.

  Watanabe Shiko was born to a samurai family and is said to have studied with both a Kano-school painter and later with the Rimpa-school artist Ogata Korin (1658-1716), although there is no specific record of their association. Both aspects of Shiko's training are apparent in this screen, in which he sensitively combines the Kano-school concern for realistic detail and spatial illusion with the bold approach to design characteristic of the Rimpa-school painting.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. Also see Original Kakemono Reserved List, pg. 22, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan (November 11, 2008 to November 11, 2009)

  East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

  Japanese Screens (May 9, 1993 to November 13, 1995)

  Japanese Screens (February 11, 1983 to July 19, 1988)

  Rimpa Screens (October 9, 1980 to December 21, 1981)

  Japanese Lacquer (April 16, 1979 to October 8, 1980)

  Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons in Japanese Art (September 14, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

  Japanese Art—Painted Screens (August 18, 1967 to May 2, 1973)

  Special Exhibition—Japanese Art (October 16, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Poppy, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chrysanthemum, Morning glory, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Hollyhock, Flowers, Wisteria, Lily

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings