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KUBOTA, Beisen   (1851 - 1906) "At the flower market"
- The original watercolor drawing - later published in the art magazine Bijutsu sekai ("World Art")


Watercolor drawing in sumi (black ink) and color on paper.

Signed:                 Beisen
Date:                    1890-93
Paper size:           19. 5 x 27 cms / c. 7 1/2" x 10 1/2")








ref. no.: # S-1599
Price:    € 1,200.00
This is an original watercolor drawing which was later published in an issue of the Japanese art magazine, BIJUTSU SEKAI ("World Art"), one of the most influential Japanese art magazines of the 1880s and 90s. The magazine was published by, a.o., WATANABE SEITEI (1858-1918). It contained woodblock printed reproductions of art works of the most important Japanese painters and woodblock artists from before the Meiji period, as well as works by a large number of contemporary artists, as e.g., by Yoshitoshi, Kyosai, Zeshin, Toshikata or (like this drawing), by Beisen. The magazine was published bi-monthly.

KUBOTA BEISEN studied with SUZUKI HYAKUNEN from age sixteen. He became acquainted with KÔNO BAIREI in 1873. He designed sashi-e for several newspapers and magazines. In 1884 he received an award at the second Domestic Painting Competition. Beisen went to Paris in 1889 and became friends with HAYASHI TADAMASA (the most influential Japanese art dealer to introduce Japanese art to Paris). He was active as a kuchi-e artist in the early 1890s. Kubota Beisen and his son, KUBOTA KINSEN, were the only artists known to have gone to the front to observe in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894/95 (Merritt / Yamada (2000), pp. 205-6).

The published woodblock print made from our original watercolor drawing is illustrated in:
"The age of Yoshitoshi", Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1990; ill. no. 123a, pp. 89.

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