Synopses & Reviews
“Takeuchi brilliantly captures the spirit of an entire age, artistically and intellectually. In addition, her information and observations are rendered in beautifully crafted prose.”—Monumenta Nipponica
“In explaining Taigas uniqueness and historic importance, Takeuchi makes sharp and vital connections between observable aspects of Taigas painting style and the meaning they had against the contemporary background of Japanese beliefs and society. Her study is attuned to current issues in Western historical scholarship, and leaves the reader convinced that Asian art can be profoundly accessible to Western eyes with the aid of a knowing guide.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Takeuchi brilliantly captures the spirit of an entire age, artistically and intellectually. In addition, her information and observations are rendered in beautifully crafted prose."Monumenta Nipponica
Synopsis
With 33 color and 64 black-and-white illustrations, this is the first major work in English on one of Japan's preeminent painters, Ike Taiga (1723-76), focusing on his shinkeizu (true-view pictures), landscapes of actual places in Japan. 'Takeuchi brilliantly captures the spirit of an entire age, artistically and intellectually. In addition, her information and observation are rendered in beautifully crafted prose.' Monumenta Nipponica 'It brings the artist to life to a degree unprecedented in other Western books on Japanese paintings.' Art Documentation
Synopsis
In its broadest sense this book is about the relationship between topography and the language of visual symbols a painter manipulates, or must invent, to suggest specific places. How do artists communicate identifiable localities in paintings? What meanings are encoded in topographical paintings? What do such pictures tell us about artist, audience, and society? What do these paintings reveal about deeply felt cultural attitudes about place?
This book is also about a central moment in Japanese painting. The middle decades of the eighteenth centruy were a time of enormous creative energy and burgeoning intellectual curiousity. A growing stress on the personality of the artist gave rise to a change in the staus of the painter, who came to be seen as someone whose expereinces were worthy of appreciation. Ike Taiga (1723-76), by virtue of his talent, foreceful personality, and sensitivity to his patrons' tastes, captured the energy and aspirations of his age.
His career is emblematic of the changes in the intellectual order. He began as a humble artisan, producing on demand utilitarian items such as fans, decorated lanterns, seals, underdrawings for woodblocks, and designs for fabrics. At his death, he was one of the most celebrated painters in Japan. Drawn to the study of Chinese culture at an early age, Taiga set out to transform himself into a cultivated man along the lines of the Chines literatus, or wen-jen. In the process, he discovered the melange of Ming and Ch'ing painting styles transimtted to Japan under the rubric of Chinese scholars' painting. In addition, Taiga devoted himself to the literary pursuits arts in the Chinese context of calligraphy, poetry, tea ceremony, herbalism, dance, and antiquarianism. In emulation of the Chinese ideal of seeking knowledge through observation and study of nature, Taiga embarked on many journeys throughout Japan. These trips proved auspicious, for they gave rise to networks of pantronage, helped diffuse the new literati style (called Nanga or Bunjinga) throughout Japan, and yielded the subject matter that was to become the centerpiece of Taiga's art actual scenery."
Synopsis
This lavishly illustrated book on one of Japan's preeminent painters focuses on the relationship between topography and the language of visual symbols a painter manipulates, or must invent, to suggest specific places.
Synopsis
Brings to life the work of Japanese painter Ike Taiga (1723-76).