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![Untitled [Studies of Japan]](/internal/media/dispatcher/19225/postagestamp)
Artist/Makerattributed to
Teisai Hokuba
(Japanese, 1771 - 1844)
Datec. 1830
MediumInk and mineral pigments on silk
DimensionsSheet: 10 1/16 × 11 1/8 in. (25.6 × 28.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Omar S. Pound, Class of 1951
Object number1985.47
Not on view
DescriptionThis painting was made during the Edo period (1615–1868), possibly by the artist Teisai Hokuba, a painter, printmaker, and pupil of the famous artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). During themost productive phase of his career, between 1800 and 1812, Hokuba created illustrations for more than sixty anthologies of kyōka poetry and vernacular novels. The scene depicted in this work, made toward the end of the artist’s life, is drawn from The Adventures of Kintarō, the Golden Boy, a tale that originated in the eleventh century. Known for his immense strength, Kintarō was a folk hero who fought for the rights of the common people. Here, his future parents, an aristocratic woman and a humble guard named Kintoki, meet for the first time at the imperial palace in Kyoto. Hokuba made their instantaneous attraction evident with a burst of gold, although their story would end tragically with the suicide of Kintarō’s father, which prompted his mother to live as a recluse for the remainder of her life. The illustration was likely part of a large album commissioned by an important or wealthy client, as the use of expensive materials such as silk and mineral pigments was not widespread at the time. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017)
Format: album leaf. backed with paper.
Additional Details
Exhibition History
2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 36, illus.);
1997
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Proper, Improper and Heroic," October 30 - December 16, 1997.
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 36, illus.);
1997
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Proper, Improper and Heroic," October 30 - December 16, 1997.
Provenance
1985: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Omar S. Pound.
Markings
Stamps: Japanese seal script in red ink at upper right in red ink.
Published References
Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 110.
Inscribed
"[Japanese calligraphy]" at upper right in black ink.
Julia Margaret Cameron
Date: 1867 (published 1893)
Medium: Photogravure, mounted on matboard
Object number: 1990.6
Cecil Beaton
Date: 1944; published 1945
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 1982.15
Unknown artist
Date: c. 1070-656 B.C.E.
Medium: Red clay with black, yellow, red pigments
Object number: INV.689
Bill Owens
Date: 1969-75
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 2018.12.88
Christoph Jamnitzer
Date: published 1610 (possibly printed later)
Medium: Engraving
Object number: 1928.11
Unknown artist
Date: c. 1877
Medium: Album with laquered board cover containing fifty albumen photographs with hand coloring
Object number: 1992.27
Eamon Ore-Giron
Date: 2021
Medium: Mineral paint and flashe on linen
Object number: 2021.6
Hendrick Goltzius
Date: 1592
Medium: Engraving
Object number: 1992.56
Karl Blossfeldt
Date: 1929
Medium: Rotogravure
Object number: 2009.2.2