Title: An Early Taisho to Showa Period Painting Album, Circa 1915-1950. Ten Beautiful Ink and Watercolor Paintings of Landscapes, Flowers, and More by Various Artists, including one Attributed to one of Japan’s Great Shin-hanga Artists
Author: Attributed to Kawasaki Kotora; Tsuneoka Bunki; Kenjiro Noguchi; Shinsui Itō; Others
Condition: Very Good
An Early Taisho to Showa Period, early to mid 20th century painting album, attributed to several artists of the periods, with names such as Kawasaki Kotora, Tsuneoka Bunki, Kenjiro Noguchi, and even Shinsui Itō, bearing their seals and signatures.
There are ten beautiful paintings done in various styles, both ink and watercolor styles, with landscapes and animals, and various objects as well. Most are done in color. Some notes have also been tipped in.
Kawasaki Kotora (1886-1977) was born in in Gifu City, eldest son of Kinnosuke Nakano. He studied Yamato-e painting from an early age under his maternal grandfather, Chitora Kawasaki, and later Nakano studied painting and design at the Arita Ceramic Art School. He later studied under Tomon Kobori and produced later subjects of nature and animals.
Tsuneoka Bunki (1898-1979) was born in Kashiwara Town, of Hyogo. Aiming to become a painter, he moved to Tokyo in 1916 and studied under Okada Shurei and Koizumi Katsuji. In 1917, he enrolled in the Japanese Painting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and while still a student, his work was selected for the first Central Art Exhibition. After graduating from the school in 1926, he became a student of Japanese painter Yuki Somei and was praised as the fastest of his students. He excelled in flower and bird paintings that combined Japanese painting with Western-style realism.
Kenjiro Noguchi (1897-1947) was born in Saga Prefecture in 1898, growing up a talented artist, and even graduating from the Japanese Painting Department at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1923. After the 3rd Teiten Exhibition in 1921, he exhibited his works at official exhibitions and received a special award for his work "Oirase" at the 15th Teiten Exhibition in 1940.
Shinsui Itō (1898-1972) was the pseudonym of a Nihonga painter and ukiyo-e woodblock print artist and was one of the great names of the shin-hanga art movement. Bon in the Fukagawa district of Tokyo, his family suffered financial misfortune, and Ito found himself a live-in apprentice at a printing shop shortly after having to drop out of school in the third grade. In 1911 he became an apprentice under Kaburagi Kiyokata and issued his first woodblock print the following year. His works were first exhibited by the Tatsumi gakai in 1912, with subsequent shows receiving significant praise. Although many of his early works were direct reflections of traditional ukiyo-e both in subject matter and in style, his technique was revolutionary for the period.
The paintings have been finely bound in album format, with decorated, light green brocade covers.
This painting album has been enclosed in a slipcase, preserving the covers.
One painting album in orihon format (34.7 x 24.5 cm), 22 leaves
This album is in very good shape, with minor wear to the rear cover with a bit of fabric loss, and several small wormholes to the front cover. There are a few worm tracks to the right-side margin, not affecting the paintings, and minor, scattered staining to a few of the paintings.