Title: Rekidai Ten'nō Rekishi Gajō (Historical Picture Book of Emperors), 1870-1900. A Monumental, Sumptuously Produced Album with 78 Paintings of Japan’s Emperors, in Great Detail
Author: Matsumoto Fūko
Condition: Very Good
A Meiji Period, late 19th century painting album roughly entitled Rekidai Ten'nō Rekishi Gajō, or the Historical Picture Book of Emperors, being a rather monumental, and sumptuously produced album with 78 paintings of Japan’s Emperors, all produced vividly in detail. From Emperor Jimmu, Sujin, Nintoku, Saga, and so many more, this album is a truly great masterwork of modern historical artwork, with various shading techniques applied, and heavily detailed backgrounds. The artist has also taken great pains to apply shading techniques to the faces of each emperor, applying a greater degree of realism to the facial expressions and more. Each painting is accompanied by a small biography written in formal calligraphy.
The painted have been attributed to Matsumoto Fūko (1840-1923), and having compared to existing artists, I can think of no perfect match other than him. A Master of Modern historical painting, Fuko studied under Satake Eikai, the official painter of the Hikone Domain, and Kikuchi Yosai, an artist who achieved success through historical painting, based on the brushwork of the Shijo school. He specialized in historical figure paintings based on the brushwork of the Shijo school and was active in exhibitions such as the Bunten and Teiten exhibitions. He served as a judge for the Bunten exhibition and a member of the Imperial Art Academy. At his art school, Angado, he trained future masters of Japanese painting, including Imamura Shikō, Hayami Gyoshu, and Komoda Seiju. In comparing to his catalog of known held works, there does not appear to be anything quite as substantial as this album, quite possibly being a magnus opus of a project for him.
The paintings and calligraphy have been finely bound in album format with blue brocade covers, decorated with geometric designs with flowers. There is a wooden box to accompany the album, preserving the contents.
One painting album in large orihon format (27.5 x 36.5 cm album size, 21.5 x 19.6 cm per painting), 78 paintings and smaller examples of calligraphy
This album is in very good shape, with minimal wear and rubbing to the covers. There is some very minor discoloration and a few marks of soiling and staining throughout, and one painting margin has a small worm track, but otherwise these paintings are in immaculate condition.