DATA

Artist:

Hasegawa Tohaku

Historical era:

Momoyama (17th Century)

Material:

printed on washi paper

Medium:

pair of six-fold screens

Theme:

High Resolution Facsimile of Japanese Art Abroad

Size:

Each screen measures H153.5 × W333.2 cm

Recipient:

Oita Prefectural Art MuseumMAP

[Original]

Current owner:

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Material:

ink on washi paper

DESCRIPTION

Divided by a wave that stretches across both screens, a dragon calling forth the clouds and a tiger bringing the wind nervously face one another. This masterpiece is one pair of six-folding screens collected by the great art collectors Ernest Fenollosa and William Bigelow. The two came to Japan in the Meiji Period and established a Japanese art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Fenollosa collected the right screen, while Bigelow collected the left. Hasegawa Tohaku was a painter active in the Momoyama Period. As the head of the "Hasegawa School," he is known to have aggressively challenged the group of painters affiliated with Kano Eitoku's "Kano School," which dominated the art world at the time. This work is known to be painted by Tohaku in 1606, a few days before his death. This is assumed from the seal, which reads, "Five generations from Sesshu, Hasegawa Hogen Tohaku, 68 years old, brush of Hasegawa Tohaku." Nonetheless, we can feel his ageless spirit from the dynamic structure and the strong strokes across the large screens.