Mid 19th Century Framed Japanese Painting. Spider & Morning Glory.

Obata Tosho (1812-1886)

Spider & Morning Glory

Late Edo period, mid 19th Century

Framed Japanese Painting. Ink and color on paper.

Dimensions: H. 131 cm x W. 55 cm

Price: USD 4,800

Individually framed 19th century bird and flower paintings by the Tottori feudal painter Obata Tosho. Each painting is meticulously and realistically depicted with delicate brushwork and subtle yet gorgeous coloring. The flora has been entirely rendered in the ‘boneless’ technique of applying ink or pigment directly to the paper in a manner that emphasizes washes instead of lines. The representation of the insects and mice are detailed almost to the point of scientific exactness. The flora and fauna represented are associated with the four seasons and the twelve months and convey a sense of time passing and celebration of the unique characteristics of the season.

The paintings show the distinct influence of Nakabayashi Chikuto, Obata Tosho’s second teacher. Chikuto was a leading painter and theorist within a circle of mid-19th century Japanese scholars who were intensely interested in Chinese literati ideals. Chikuto specialized in Chinese-style landscape painting, but he also produced a number of bird and flower works that were likely inspired by the careful and delicate approach of the Chinese master Yun Shou-ping (1633-1690).

Obata Tosho (1812-1886) was born in Tottori prefecture. He first learned Nanpin style painting techniques from Kuroda Toko, and his talent was recognized from a young age. He is an important member of the Tottori School. During the construction of the new Ninomaru building of Tottori Castle in 1845 he contributed a number of paintings and folding screens. In 1846 he went to Kyoto to study painting under the literati painter Nakabayashi Chikuto. He was simultaneously employed as an artist for the Tottori domain. He worked there for over 20 years during the turbulent period from the Edo to the Meiji era, and became, along with Oki Morikata (1841-1912), the last official artist of the Tottori domain. The 45 sliding door paintings that decorate the entire main hall of Jitoku-ji Temple (Hyogo Prefecture) are said to be Tosho’s masterpiece, and feature vivid depictions of a variety of subjects such as “Playing Carp,” “Dragon and Clouds,” “Fierce Tiger,” “Reeds and Geese,” and “Peony and Peacock.”