Nightingale on Plum Blossom | Matsumura Keibun 松村景文 | 1779-1843

Matsumura Keibun is one of the grand masters of classical painting in early 19th-century Kyoto. He is the younger brother of Goshun, who founded the Shijō school in Kyoto together with the genius of the 18th century, Maruyama Ōkyo (1733-1795). This school set the tone for classical Japanese elegance, which Keibun embodies inimitably in his oeuvre.

“Nightingale on Plum Blossom Branches” has been a standard theme in Japanese painting since at least the 15th century. This makes it a challenge for an artist like Keibun to reformulate this motif in an appealing way each time. Here, Keibun ventures an incredibly generous arrangement of branches that protrude into the picture, leave it, and cross the picture window again. A delicate branch in the center bundles this energetic game of hide-and-seek with the format and gives the picture the necessary calm and inner composure. It is no coincidence that the nightingale is sitting on this branch, which centers the picture. Its formal function is thus emphasized once again.