Phoenixes and Paulownia, late 1500s. Creator: Tosa Mitsuyoshi (Japanese, 1539-1613), attributed to
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Phoenixes and Paulownia, late 1500s. Creator: Tosa Mitsuyoshi (Japanese, 1539-1613), attributed to
Phoenixes and Paulownia, late 1500s. The immense heraldic birds on display in these byobu reflect the Momoyama eras spirit of newly gained self-confidence and an affinity for grand expressive statements in painting, architecture, the textile and ceramic arts, as well as garden design. The setting is composed of highly stylized lozenges of mineral green paint, suggesting the earth from which clumps of grass, flowering plants, and towering bamboo and paulownia trees emerge. Clusters of lumpy, blue-green rocks dotted with lichen provide stabilizing three-dimensional foils for these islands of vegetation as well as the all-encompassing flat, golden surface. The glorious artificiality of the setting precisely serves the artists effort to compose a credible yet other-worldly vista for depicting the legendary phoenix gazing across the landscape at the pair of peacocks. Rather than an emblem of immortality, as it is in Western lore, in Japan the phoenix evolved out of its origins in Chinese mythology to become, by the sixteenth century, an auspicious symbol of political authority. A characteristic infusion of temporality has been included also, through a seasonal flowering schema extending from spring to early summer (right) to fall and the advent of winter (left). Although traditionally attributed to the Tosa school master Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539-1613), these byobu possess neither seals nor signatures to confirm that authorship. Known for his jewel-like, modest-sized album paintings of courtly narratives such as The Tale of Genji, it is likely both studio training and contemporary fashions in patronage conspired to produce a good number of such byobu. This example from the Momoyama era represents one such effort from a masterful Tosa painter, too little seen in Western collections
Media ID 19648998
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