Mid Edo Period (18th c.)／Ink and light color on paper, six-fold screen
152.5 x 339.6 cm
SUMMARY
Two cranes are painted on a six-segment folding screen, in sumi ink and partly colored ink. A sumi ink outline is used around the cranes to emphasize their white bodies, and the red used on their crowns is an effective accent. The skill of Shohaku is evident in the expression of the birds and the big pine tree that sweeps across the screen, painted with quick brush strokes, and in the undergrowth depicted in the mokkotsu technique – painted without an outline. On the left hand side of the screen, repairs and the marks of a door pull are visible, meaning that this was a fusuma (a sliding paper door) converted into the folding screen format. From the style, seal and signature in the work, it is thought to have been produced in the artist’s late twenties to early thirties.
ARTIST
Soga Shohaku
1730-1781
Soga Shohaku was born Miura Shohaku in Kyoto. He studied under Takada Keiho, but is said to have also been influenced by the Unkoku school. He was such a deep devotee of Jasoku Soga that he went so far as to adopt the name Soga. In his twenties and thirties he visited Ise and Banshu (in the region of Hyogo Prefecture) a few times, and in Ise he produced many paintings on paper doors and partitions, such as those of Chodenji temple and the former Nagashima house. The characteristics of his work include eccentric deformation, strong color and a very individualistic, bold style of painting – as evident in Gunsenzu-byobu (“Folding Screen - Gathering of Hermits”). In his later life he secured a position for himself as a painter based in Kyoto. He died at the age of 52.
List of artworks by the same artist
INFORMATION
Monday, June 1 - Sunday, July 5, 2020
Great Masters of Japanese Painting from the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum Collection Shimane Art Museum (Shimane, Japan)
Saturday, October 12 - Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Quintessence of Edo Period Painting Nara Prefecture Complex of Man’yo culture (Nara, Japan)
Saturday, June 2 - Sunday, July 8, 2012
Shohaku Shock!! Soga Shohaku and the Painters in Kyoto Mie Prefectural Art Museum (Mie, Japan)
Tuesday, April 10 - Sunday, May 20, 2012
Shohaku Shock!! Soga Shohaku and the Artists In Kyoto Chiba City Museum of Art (Chiba, Japan)
Thursday, August 24 - Sunday, November 19, 2006
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (Curitiba, Brazil)
Wednesday, November 3 - Sunday, November 28, 2004
Treasures of Japanese Art Exhibition Kagawa History Museum (Kagawa, Japan)
Saturday, February 8 - Monday, May 5, 2003
In Harmony with Nature: The Japanese Aesthetic and Way of Life Setagaya Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan)
Saturday, October 5 - Monday, November 4, 2002
Art of the West & Art of Japan Exhibition: Monet, Renoir, Cezanne… Ikeno Taiga, Tani Buncho, and Others Shimane Art Museum (Shimane, Japan)
Friday, May 1 - Tuesday, June 30, 1998
Treasures of Japanese Arts and Crafts—400 Years of Japanese Art from the Momoyama Period to Modernity National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Taipei, Taiwan)
Tuesday, October 8 - Sunday, November 17, 1996
Elegance and Brilliance in Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Collection of Fuji Art Museum Hokkaido Obihiro Museum of Art (Hokkaido, Japan)
Wednesday, June 29 - Sunday, August 7, 1994
The Beauty and Spirit of Japan: Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection National Museum of Colombia (Santafe de Bogota, Colombia)
Sunday, January 26 - Sunday, March 22, 1992
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Kunstlerhaus (Vienna, Austria)
Saturday, August 10 - Sunday, October 20, 1991
Behind Golden Screens: Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection – An Official Event of Japan Festival ’91 and the Edinburgh Festival National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh, UK)
Wednesday, September 26 - Sunday, December 9, 1990
Treasures of Japanese Art National Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Stockholm, Sweden)
Thursday, February 22 - Sunday, April 1, 1990
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Sao Paulo Art Museum (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Monday, May 29 - Sunday, July 23, 1989
Treasures of Japanese Art from the TFAM Collection Taplow Court Oriental Gallery (Taplow Court, UK)
Tuesday, May 3 - Wednesday, August 24, 1988
Eternal Treasures of Japan: Japanese Art Collection from the TFAM Collection Institute of France, Jacquemart-Andre Museum (Paris, France)
EXPLORE
You can search and browse content on a platform across museums and archival institutions nationwide, and create My Gallery (online exhibition).
You can view the work in High-resolution.
