Yusai Gafu [Yusai's Painting Album]

US$1,340.00

ENQUIRE

BUY

Yūsai Gafu [Yūsai's Painting Album]

Nakabayashi, Chikutō [illustrated by].

Kōto [Kyōto]: Hishiya Magobē, Kōka 3 [1846].

One of several distinct works published under the title Yūsai Gafu during the late Edo period, this album was illustrated by Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776–1853), one of the foremost painters of the Japanese literati (Nanga) tradition, whose work adapted Chinese painting conventions to a distinctly Japanese aesthetic. This complete single-volume edition comprises a double-page woodblock-printed preface followed by 21 double-page woodblock-printed illustrations, several printed in colour. The colophon records that the woodblocks were cut in Tenpō 12 (1841) and the work was published in Kōka 3 (1846). Unlike the better-known Yūsai Gafu editions containing circular compositions, the illustrations here are presented as expansive double-page designs depicting birds, flowering plants, vegetables, and other natural subjects. Perhaps drawing upon Chinese painting models that Chikutō had collected and copied over many years, the volume appears to have been conceived as a painting manual for aspiring artists. The present edition appears to be considerably scarcer than the more familiar Yūsai Gafu variants.

One concertina album-bound (gajōsō) volume, complete. Original boards worn and stained, with losses to the paper covering. Occasional wormholes, browning, small stains, and marks internally. Some leaf edges splitting. [Unpaginated]. 27 x 15.6 cm.

Yusai Gafu [Yusai's Painting Album]
Price: $1,340.00 (USD)