Fish in the River | Matsumura Keibun 松村景文 | 1779-1843

Matsumura Keibun, along with his half-brother Matsumura Goshun, is the forefather of the Shijō school. Shijo means "Fourth Street"; it is still a busy, colorful street in Kyoto today. Nothing remains of the studio, but the fame and culture that emanated from the famous painting workshop has been a defining feature of academic traditional painting in Japan since the 19th century and well into the 20th century.

With his work as a painter and teacher, Keibun is the pioneer of elegant Kyoto aesthetics. From him you can learn what makes Kyoto so special in the cultural landscape of Japan. As far as motifs are concerned, he generally stays within the classical canon; that is, he was certainly never a revolutionary. But he was an artist like no other, who filled the tradition of the old imperial city with the finest spirit, gently expanded it and brought it to new heights.

This painting is surprising in its dimensions. It is a picture of ayu, which translates as "sweet fish" or "fragrant fish", which is caught mainly in Lake Biwa (near Kyoto) and is considered the finest freshwater edible fish in Japan.

The wide format of the picture is unusual in principle, but even more so for Keibun. The painter certainly wanted to paint the pretty ayu first and foremost, but he felt that in order to capture their delicacy, he had to add waves to the picture in a simple and generous way. Only with such waves could he convincingly capture the essence of the delicious fish.

The simple yet elegant mount dates from the painter's time. Its color beautifully highlights the delicate blue of the cool waves.