Maemura Tōwa – 前村洞和 (? – 1841) – Mt. Fuji Landscape – 富士山山水

Tōwa was a trained member of the Tosa School, and this piece is a beautiful example of the subtle skills of minimalism created by those masters. A late-starter, Tōwa watched with envy while other boys started studying painting, while he made an honorable living creating popular objects for everyday consumption. Fortunately, a local master recognized his talent and arranged for the commencement of his studies. This one-stroke Mt. Fuji is masterfully brushed. The lower trees were deftly infused into brushed-on water to create a bleeding, dripping effect called “Tarashikomi”. The inscription on the upper verso reads: “洞和筆四季富士図 “Tōwa Hitsu Shiki Fuji Zu” – “Tōwa Brush Four Seasons Fuji Painting” – leading us to believe that this is one of a set of four that was painted for a wealthy patron. Now to find the other three! Do they still even exist, or did they perish in a typhoon, earthquake, flood or bombing? We may never know… – Tōwa worked in the prestigious circles of artists of the day. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is being one of the teachers of the immortal Kawanabe Kyōsai. Kyōsai was very unruly as a young man, and so his father put him under Tōwa’s instruction, hoping for some stability from the elder statesman. This turned out to be a fairly good decision, as the master, recognizing his student’s genius and quickly becoming very fond of him, encouraged his artistic creativity instead of trying to stifle it, and in the process, dubbed the young genius “The Painting Demon”, not only for his talent, but for his tireless commitment to practice and love of the medium. When he was dying during Kyōsai’s 13th year, the young wunderkind visited him regularly. When Tōwa died, Kyōsai drew a portrait of him and had it made into a hanging scroll (something I’d like to see) and offered a tea ceremony to his memory on every anniversary. He also had a famous sculptor carve a likeness of his face for worship at his local Buddhist alter. One of Tōwa’s few surviving masterpieces that is accessible to academics can be seen here. -Good condition for its age. The lacquered jikusaki (roller ends) still have a bit of shine to them. Nice, slightly larger than average size and very impressive.

$2,300 CAD – 30″ x 49″. Comes with a sealed document of authenticity. Price includes shipping worldwide! All prices in Canadian dollars. This item is in proper storage and is not on view at our retail location. Please call or text for a private viewing (including Skype etc.) or additional images.