Shijō — Wikipedia

L’ Shijō school ( Four factions , -ha ^? ) , also known as school «Maruyama-shijō» , is a school of Japanese painting founded by Maruyama ōkyo (1733-1795) and his former student Matsumura Goshun (Matsumura Gekkei) (1752-1811).

MARUYAMA ōkyo. Goose and reeds; Willows and moon . Left screen, 1793. 153.9 x 354.4 cm. Pair of 6 -leaf paravents. Ink, colors and gold on paper. Put

MARUYAMA ōkyo. Goose and reeds; Willows and moon . Lawning screen, 1774. 153.9 x 354.4 cm. Pair of 6 -leaf paravents. Ink, colors and gold on paper. Put

The Nagasaki School [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Naturalism was, at the beginning of the century, as a fashion in Nagasaki. The Chinese painter of flowers and birds Shen Quan arrived in Nagasaki in 1731 with two students, finding many Japanese students after his arrival to the point of generating the Nanpin school or Nagasaki school. They mixed Western naturalism and a kind of Chinese naturalism The imports by Dutch of scientific works and engravings used in objects similar to stereoscopes (in the years 1751-1764) brought other incentives to detailed naturalism, to the ‘Study of the perspective that Western culture had theorized. Their practices had to mark other artists such as painters Nanga (Bunjin-Ga) and the Maruyama-Shijō school ^{[ first ]} .

Matsumura Goshun, Hibiscus and blue heron on a strain , 1782. Suspended roller. Ink and colors on silk, 126 x 60 cm.

The Maruyama-Shijō school [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Maruyama-Shijō school is one of the various minor schools, the whole of which is the largest school in Kyoto. The Maruyama-Shijō school takes its name from rue de Kyoto where many artists were fixed. Literally, Shijō means “fourth avenue”. Its main customers are rich merchants in and around Kyoto and Osaka (the Kamigata ) but it also calls on established aristocrat families and the families of craftsmen of the imperial capital at the end of XVIII ^{It is} And XIX ^{It is} centuries.

From the point of view of style, the Maruyama-Shijō school can best define itself as a synthesis of two rival styles at that time. Maruyama ōkyo, experienced painter and ink painting expert Sumi-e , reaches a high degree of realism in his creations, emphasizing the direct observation of the subjects represented ^{[ 2 ]} .

With such a naturalist approach, from the vogue of the Nagasaki school, he places himself in direct opposition with the official schools of the time, Kanō and Tosa, which, on the contrary, highlight the decorative aspect of subjects where the stylized form given to them by the painter is essential. This traditional method of Kanō and Tosa schools is taught to students by copying the paintings of ancient masters. At that time, the names of the Kanō and Tosa schools became synonymous with rigid formalism.

The artists of the Maruyama-Shijō school seek to reconcile the differences between these two styles, realism and formalism, creating works which synthesize of the best elements of the two.

The style of the school focuses on an objective realism influenced by the West but made with traditional techniques of Japanese painting. He focuses less on the exact representation of his subject, than on the expression of the “inner spirit” of the subject and generally has an element of play and humor compared to the Maruyama school. Its most popular reasons are the quiet landscapes, The (flower and bird), animals, and traditional subjects of Chinese poetic and Confucian tradition, but it is generally little or not at all interested in legends, history, or classical literature ^{[ 3 ]} .

One of the artists, from this school, the best known in the West is Mori Soses, renamed for the large number of monkeys painted he has made. Shibata Zeshin is also often compared to the Shijō school although it works in many other styles and on other media, especially lacquered objects and lacquered painting.

A number of artists, however, rebel against the realism of ōkyo and create school BUNJIN-GA (South images), based on their style largely on the old “South School”, the majority school of the Painting of Letters practiced by Chinese painting and previously imitated in Japan as well as in Korea. But in these two countries, at XVIII ^{It is} century new trends appear, more turned towards the observation of reality.

This style is very successful in Osaka and Kyoto, but very little in Edo ^{[ 4 ]} .

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