Yamamoto Baiitsu

Waterfall and bamboo grove

Yamamoto Baiitsu ( Japanese 山 本 梅 逸 , real first name: Shinryō ( 親 亮 ); born November 14, 1783 in Nagoya ; died February 7, 1856 there ) was a Japanese painter in the Nanga style of the late Edo period .

life and work

Yamamoto Baiitsu was the eldest son of a sculptor in Nagoya . He showed an early interest in painting and learned its basics - like Nakabayashi Chikutō - under Kamiya Ten'yū ( 神 谷 天 遊 ), a wealthy pawnbroker, antique connoisseur and amateur painter, by copying his works in the style of the southern song. Baiitsu was very impressed by Wang Wan's ink paintings of cherry blossoms.

In 1803 Baiitsu went to Kyōto with Chikutō and continued his education under Yamada Kujō and Yamamoto Rantei ( 山 本 蘭亭 ), also worked with Uragami Shunkin ( 浦 上 春 琴 ; 1779-1846). He also studied Chinese paintings there in temples in and outside the city. In this way he developed his own style. In 1854 he went back to Nagoya, where he was appointed the official painter of the Owari clan and received samurai status. He died just two years later.

Baiitsu's landscapes, figures and pictures of flowers and birds are impressive, they are all tasteful and well designed. Baiitsu was very productive and many of his works still exist. Together with Chikutō, he is one of the great nanga painters in Nagoya, where he also had many students.

His masterpieces include "Waterfall and Bamboo Grove " ( 畳 泉 密 竹 図 , Jōsen mitchiku-zu ) in the Nagoya Municipal Museum ( 名古屋 市 博物館 ), a hanging scroll that is registered as an “Important Art Object ” ( 重要 美術品 , Jūyō bijtsuhin) . Next is particularly worth mentioning a folding screen pair with the title "pine, bamboo and plum" ( 松竹梅 , Chōchikubai -to ): these are the classic "Three Friends of the cold season" in East Asia. The work is in the Cleveland Museum of Art .

photos

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  "Plum" screen

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  "Pine and bamboo" screen

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Yamamoto Baiitsu . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Baiitsu . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Yamamoto Baiitsu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Yamamoto Baiitsu in Google Arts & Culture

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Yamamoto is the family name, Baiitsu the first name.