{"title":"Blumen","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"kamelien-yamanaka-shuhan-山中秋帆-1832-1892","title":"Camellias | Yamanaka Shūhan 山中秋帆 | 1832-1892","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eNo biographical details are known about this painter. His esteem is demonstrated above all by his participation in a joint work with the most famous painters of Kyoto of his time. The painting depicts the Sixteen Arhats (Chinese sages and saints) and is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e This camellia painting, which was converted into a panel as a scroll painting, clearly shows the painter's aesthetic roots in the tradition of the Shijō school, which was the dominant style in Kyoto in the 19th century. The care taken in the format design, the accents with open flowers and the play with the buds and the different colored and multi-shaped leaves correspond perfectly to the syntax of this style. Yamanaka Shūhan's painting is less influenced by the modernizing trends of the late 19th century than by the classical art of the 18th and early 19th centuries.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eHe is not an innovator in his time, but a talented traditionalist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e Camellias are actually winter flowers in Japan. When all the bushes in the parks and gardens are bare, the camellias with their dark, fleshy leaves and intensely colored petals add a strong accent to the landscape. In Japan, there are many varieties of camellias in different shades of red, as well as pink, snow-white or speckled white and red, etc. The camellia is a traditionally symbolic flower: because the flower falls from the stem in one piece, it reminded the samurai of being beheaded and was therefore never planted in their gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"37cm x 98cm \/ silk on wooden panel","offer_id":54077391700353,"sku":"200731 D4","price":2300.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_2786.jpg?v=1740518702"},{"product_id":"herbstblumen-gedicht-秋草の歌-mokuan-shoto木庵性瑫-1611-1684","title":"Autumn Flowers Poem 秋草の歌 | Mokuan Shōtō 木庵性瑫 | 1611-1684","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMokuan Shōtō is one of the prominent Chinese monks who fled to Japan during the turmoil following the end of the Ming Dynasty in China (1644) and were received with admiration in Kyoto, acting as cultural ambassadors. In 1661, they built Manpukuji Temple in Uji, near Kyoto, and founded the Ōbaku school of Buddhism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe calligraphy in this image is Chinese, and the content also has a more mainland feel. The poem reflects that typical Chinese scholarly mindset: one enjoys being in a pavilion far from the hustle and bustle of the cities, delights in nature and the landscape, and indulges in the pleasures of drinking (music lovers will recognize this mood from Mahler's \"Das Lied von der Erde\"). The calligraphed text is: \u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'MS Gothic';\"\u003e万事人間都撥置\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'MS Gothic';\"\u003e不知花下且\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'Malgun Gothic',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Malgun Gothic';\"\u003e䘖\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'MS Gothic';\"\u003e盃\u003c\/span\u003e, in modern Japanese Translation: \u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'MS Gothic';\"\u003e何事も人間はすべて捨てて顧みない盃を咥えながら花の下にいる事を知らない\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI put all worldly things aside; I don't think about them and only drink among flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOne must understand such a poem by a priest who suffered much as a refugee and was able to escape to Japan in this way: He is happy to be able to enjoy a Japanese autumn in peace and feels comfortable in his retreat out in nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe fact that the image is related to autumn is indicated by the painted flower, an aster (aster amellus), which in China and Japan is considered a symbol of constancy and purity and is specifically known as an autumn flower. The insect belongs to the grasshopper family (acrididae), which is very common in warm regions of Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe balance between the two lines of poetry next to the signature line (with carefully placed stamps underneath) and the reed-like grass, which as if protectively sheltering and surrounding the autumn flower, radiates a harmony that the Chinese priest in Kyoto must have deeply felt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"55cm x 186cm \/ Paper","offer_id":54959327478145,"sku":"150927 HB3","price":3500.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_4787.jpg?v=1762683274"},{"product_id":"pfingstrose-tani-buncho-谷文晁-1762-1840","title":"Peony | Tani Bunchō 谷文晁 | 1762-1840","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eTani Bunchō is one of the most brilliant artists of the early 19th century; he was literally versed in all styles like hardly any other contemporary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eCircular paintings are not as common in Japan as they are in Chinese art—when this format is chosen in Japan, one often senses a clear connection to Chinese aesthetics. This element is only discernible here insofar as peonies are the epitome of Chinese splendor in the Japanese world of dance and Kabuki. However, in the case of the artist Bunchō, one can imagine that he was simply considering how he could most effectively showcase a fully blooming peony in a formal context.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eTani Bunchō chose the circular format, but knew that its fundamental problem lay in its lack of inner dynamism: the center of a circle absorbs all energy flows. Unless, that is, one avoids the center with the motif: Bunchō here opts for the spiral inherent in its dynamism, for he begins (using the clock face as a guide) at 5 with the woody branch. This branch divides at 6 into two leafy limbs, one of which unfolds foliage in the lower left, while the other, in two branches, is responsible for the splendor of green leaves to the left and right of the blossom. The main limb then bears the blossom, whose finely structured dark pink center lies neither on the horizontal nor the vertical central axis of the circle. With this free, independent choice of center for the magnificent white-pink blossom and with all the micro-movements of the green leafy twigs, this virtuoso floral painting vibrates without being in any way blocked by the format.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"37cm x 148cm \/ silk","offer_id":55423295521153,"sku":"190827 GA3","price":1800.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_57982.jpg?v=1773409805"},{"product_id":"pfingstrosen-kano-tanyu-狩野探幽-1602-1674","title":"Peonies | Kanō Tanyū 狩野探幽 | 1602-1674","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis peony painting clearly bears the signature and seal of Kanō Tanyū, but since this master was one of the most sought-after painters of the 17th century, he also had a large studio with many artists whom he trained and who were assigned tasks in large paintings. It is possible that collaborators were involved in this magnificent work. Nevertheless, much originality can be discovered in this painting. It features a very special composition that could only come from a genius like Tanyū: no secondary painter would hide a fiery red peony, which strangely grows on a white peony bush – artistic freedom takes precedence over natural fidelity even in Japan! – as an emotionally understood force behind the leaves. This red spreads to the blossoms unfolding slightly higher on the left and colors them pink. This pink acts as an intermediary, as two more blossoms shine in immaculate white as a wonderful contrast to the intense red of the hidden blossom. The rock at the bottom before the peony bush rises has the solid stone structure typical of Tanyū – in many paintings, the master's hand can be recognized by the way he paints rocks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe mounting is antique and in excellent condition.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"67cm x 222cm \/ silk","offer_id":55775684002177,"sku":null,"price":2400.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_6646.jpg?v=1780905095"},{"product_id":"pfingstrosen-am-bach-anonym-fruhes-20-jh","title":"Peonies by the Stream | anonymous | early 20th Century","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis pair of wooden panels was created by reconfiguring a pair of folding screens, presumably used in the context of the tea ceremony. Based on the material and style, it can be assumed that they were created in the late 19th to early 20th century. As is often the case with folding screens, there is no signature or any indication of a date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis is certainly a painting created for decorative purposes. The professional painter was familiar with a natural-looking formal arrangement of the flower group by a stream that winds through the landscape. The two paintings appear effortlessly mastered down to the last detail. The peonies are rendered fragrant, and the green foliage is elegantly grouped around the magnificent blossoms. The rocks are painted in the best Kanō style, and the waterway is reminiscent of paintings from the Rinpa school.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe twelve pictures were carefully extracted from the\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003efolding screen and lightly restored. They were then mounted on a thin wooden panel. The six wooden panels each were combined on a wooden board, which was veneered with a wafer-thin sheet of Japanese cedar. The beautiful grain of this wood accentuates the natural and carefree quality of this painting.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"22(x12)cm x 56cm | 2x 6-Picture Panel \/ Paper","offer_id":55775701336449,"sku":null,"price":3600.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_6625.jpg?v=1780905617"},{"product_id":"reiher-und-pfingstrosen-auf-goldgrund-anonym-18-jh","title":"Egret and Peonies on a Gold Ground | anonymous | 18th Century","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis image probably comes from a multi-panel screen – only a single picture has survived. It is unsigned, which was quite common in the 17th\/18th century, even if the authorship would have been worth mentioning. Stylistically, one is most likely to think of the Kanō school, which has been supplying palaces and large temples with magnificent sliding door and screen paintings since the 15th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe use of gold as a background is not just a matter of the desire for splendor. The interiors of temples and castles tended to be quite dark. Gold, however, reflected sparse sunlight or candlelight and created a warm atmosphere in the room. In old gildings, like this one, the shapes of the square foils used for gilding clearly stand out and vividly structure the shimmering surface.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn this painting, the gold plane is not just a background; at the top, in the middle, and at the bottom, cloud formations are hinted at, which are, however, completely unreal – they have an exclusively decorative function. This concise graphic element contrasts with the various levels of realism in the reeds and peonies in the lower part of the painting. The drawing of the reed leaves is very realistic – not so much their color: one would actually expect a fresh green at the time when the peonies bloom. The leaves of the peonies are also green in principle, but a central leaf at the bottom takes on the unreal beige of the reed leaves, which makes it clear that the painter thinks purely pictorially: He needs a bright counterbalance to the white egret in the golden sky. The egret is completely isolated in the depiction and therefore compactly rendered: With its open wingtips and black feet, it is inscribed in a triangle, which as a geometric form always promises graspability and stability.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe white egret in Asia is a symbol of spirituality, purity, and harmony. The peony is a symbol of splendor and wealth. Both elements together ensure happiness and well-being in life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe painting may no longer be as brilliant as it was 250 years ago. But it is precisely the patina that creates an expression of nobility, which also determined the remounting: a noble pine-needle green with a fine brocade frame is intended to frame the painting with tranquility and elegance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"58cm x 205cm \/ Paper","offer_id":55775800721793,"sku":"251017 AEJ 3","price":3800.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_6681.jpg?v=1780907649"},{"product_id":"diptychon-lotus-hine-taizan-日根對山-1813-1869-vermutlich-1860","title":"Diptych Lotus | Hine Taizan 日根對山 | 1813-1869 (presumably 1860)","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHine Taizan is an outstanding painter from the Osaka region. Painters from Osaka found it increasingly difficult to make a name for themselves throughout Japan compared to those from Kyoto, where the definition of ‘good art’ was established. Taizan therefore moved to Kyoto to ensure he kept pace with high art. Nevertheless, he continued to be regarded as a painter from Osaka, as evidenced by his surname, which he never disowned: ‘Hine’ is a village south of Osaka.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis two-panel painting was originally a diptych, which has been combined here into a double painting. The reason for this combination was to emphasise how ingeniously, in this composition, the lotus blossoms, their stems and leaves engage in a dialogue with one another across the picture borders in the extreme vertical format. The result is a marvellous interplay of focal points, shifting from one picture to the other and back again. Taizan also integrates his large signature into this dialogue. On the left, he places it in the centre of the image, and on the right, in the upper section. This creates an upward momentum in the composition, which is both highly original and unusual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eTaizan mastered various styles, as was expected of a painter of his stature. Here, he chose a decidedly rustic, coarse-grained paper and adapted his brushwork to suit it. Even the delicately opening blossom displays a sketch-like, improvised stroke; yet it is the leaves in particular that are imbued with a truly dramatic sense of transience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe seals could not be verified, which is hardly surprising, given that over 70 seals by this painter are known… He seems to have enjoyed creating and using new seals.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"24cm (x2) x 189cm \/ Paper","offer_id":55927393616257,"sku":"140526 EB3","price":2400.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_7023.jpg?v=1784287026"},{"product_id":"blaue-winden-kikuchi-hobun-菊池芳文-1862-1918","title":"Morning Glories | Kikuchi Hōbun  菊池芳文 | 1862–1918","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eKikuchi Hōbun was adopted into the famous Kikuchi family of painters, having shown exceptional talent from an early age. He had renowned teachers and went on to become a professor at the art school in Kyoto. He exhibited several times at the prestigious art exhibitions (\u003cem\u003ebunten\u003c\/em\u003e) and was highly regarded as a juror. Despite his generation, Hōbun was not a ‘modern’ painter of his time; he was thoroughly rooted in the classical tradition of the Shijō school. He was, and still is, highly regarded for his virtuosity in this style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMorning glories have been a classic floral motif in Japan since ancient times. They bear the charming name \u003cem\u003easagao\u003c\/em\u003e, ‘morning face’, as they open their blossoms with the first rays of the sun. They often close again by midday, which is why they became a symbol of ‘transience’ (\u003cem\u003emujō\u003c\/em\u003e) in poetry. Dark blue morning glories have been known in Japan since the 8th century. At that time, they were still small and were not bred until the 17th century. The 19th century saw a veritable ‘morning glory boom’ following the publication in 1854 of the illustrated volume \u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'MS Gothic';\"\u003e朝顔三十六花撰\u003c\/span\u003e „Asagao sanjūrokkasen“ (A Selection of 36 Morning Glories). The book distinguished between five different shades of blue - ranging from light blue to Prussian blue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe classical composition of this morning glory arrangement is placed in the lower right-hand corner in the shape of a triangle (appearing slightly raised). It consists of two groups of three flowers each. The painter was aware that the vivid blue might pose a problem for a bright, light summer scene.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u003c\/span\u003eIf one looks closely at the flowers, one immediately sees that he renders the deep dark blue of the flowers in only a few parts – in most places, this colour is merely subtly hinted at.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn addition to this masterful composition, an effective balance has been achieved through the relatively dark, clearly defined leaves (whose colour has probably been rendered here as brownish-grey rather than green for reasons of subtlety).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOnly on closer inspection does one spot a leaf-grasshopper (\u003cem\u003ekirigigirisu\u003c\/em\u003e); like the bindweed in the poem, it is a \u003cem\u003ekigo\u003c\/em\u003e – that is, a seasonal symbol for August, which in classical Japan was already regarded as ‘early autumn’.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","offers":[{"title":"54cm x 193cm \/ Paper","offer_id":55968259670401,"sku":"210520 AB3","price":1500.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/files\/IMG_7056.jpg?v=1784808407"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/3092\/9452\/collections\/IMG_7056.jpg?v=1792582191","url":"https:\/\/guignard-kyoto-collection.ch\/en\/collections\/blumen.oembed","provider":"Guignard Kyoto Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}