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NANRIN   (fl. c. mid-19th c.)

Rice cake ('mochi') - a shijo-style surimono and its preparatory drawing -

The finished surimono and the preparatory drawing ('shita-e') in black ink (sumi) and color on paper. Signed:                          NANRIN Sealed:                          NANRIN no in Dated:                           1862 (haru) Size of the print:           chuban yoko-e (21.5 x 27.5 cms / c. 8.5" x 11") Size of the drawing:     13.5 x 12 cms / 5.5" x 4.8" Poems signed:               Oha sho / possibly: Tomita OHA (1836-1907) Condition: Fine / very good. - Metalic, silver-color pigments applied to the blade of the knife. For one of the finest shijo-/nanga- style illustrated books, see:  'Customs of the Eastern Capital' by Oishi CHINNEN (1792-1851) in the  Illustrated Books section of our gallery. See also a fine watercolor sketchbook attr. to  Watanabe NANGAKU in this part of the drawings section. ref. no.: #702100 - SOLD -

A fine shijo-style surimono, of which the original preparatory drawing luckily has survived, a rare instance, indeed. NANRIN seems to have been a pupil of Suzuki NANREI (1775-1844), one of the important representatives of the Shijo school. For a detailed discussion of the art of the shijo and nanga schools and their importance in the field of the Japanese 'genre' painting and illustrated books, we highly recommend: Jack HILLIER, 'The Uninhibited Brush - Japanese art in the shijo style', London, 1974; in particular: chapter 15, The ultimate in Shijo: Nanrei and Chinnen, pp. 306-325.

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