Ike Taiga & Tokuyama Gyokuran Japanese Masters of the Brush

The Kano lineage of paintersandmdash;the most important in Japanandmdash;was established in the late 15th century by Kano Masanobu (1434andndash;1530) and continued for more than 400 years, until the early 20th century. Originally limited to successive generations of the Kano family, it soon developed into a school of professional artists. Ink and Gold is the first and most comprehensive book published outside of Japan to address the Kano painters. Lavishly illustrated, this important volume focuses on the large-scale screens and sliding doors that were designed for the residences of powerful rulers, together with smaller works such as scrolls, albums, and fans. These worksandmdash;for sites including shogunate residences, Zen temples, teahouses, and homes of wealthy merchantsandmdash;demonstrate the range of styles that Kano artists employed to suit the tastes of their varied patrons. Essays by leading scholars address the wide range of Kano motifs and styles and also consider the particular influence of Kano Tanandrsquo;yuand#160;(1602andndash;1674). A compendium of Kano artistsandrsquo; seals, a type of resource published here for the first time, provides an important reference, as does an appendix of images from the most significant album by Tanandrsquo;yu.

Ike Taiga (1723and#150;1776) and his wife Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727and#150;1784) were preeminent artists in 18th-century Japan. This landmark bookand#150;and#150;the only comprehensive survey available in Englishand#151;focuses on the lives and times of these artists and accompanies the first-ever exhibition devoted to their work in the United States.

Considered by contemporaries to be an eccentric marvel, indifferent to worldly preoccupations, Taiga is best known as an exponent of the so-called Nanga school of Chinese literati painting. He was hugely prolific and experimental, working in an impressive range of styles, techniques, compositions, and subjects to produce over 1,000 calligraphies and paintings, and many large-scale fusuma (sliding doors) and screens. While not as well known as her husband, Gyokuran was a significant artist and a well-regarded poet of Japanese verse. Taiga wrote poetry in Chinese, and translated poems by both artists are featured prominently in this volume.and#160;

An exquisite tribute to the group of artists who elevated Japanese painting to the level of internationally renowned fine art

Lavishly illustrated, this book is the first outside of Japanandmdash;and the most comprehensive everandmdash;to examine the over-400-year history of the Kano painters, Japanandrsquo;s most important school of artists.

Felice Fischer is the Luther W. Brady Curator of Japanese Art and senior curator of East Asian art andand#160;Kyoko Kinoshita is project associate curator, both at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.