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The
Keinen Album catalogs all 160 full color pages of the Keinen Gacho Gafu.
1924)
of
Since
its first appearance in an 1882
edition of hand-inked and hand-colored woodcut prints.
The
selections include just about all the ornithological and floral species that
have ever appeared
under
an Asian artist's brush. The seasonal division of the collection into four parts
accentuates
Keinen's
approach—realistic and
naturalistic. He modeled his art after the real, observing the
Objects
meticulously; he practiced Sketching
the birds in their natural habitat, in the garden, out
in
the fields, way out in the seldom trodden hills, and then bringing them home
into his studio.
The
result is a rich galaxy of these feathered creatures, displaying all colors and
striking all
postures.
Their variety is only matched by the array of flowers and foliage, from gnarled
myrtle
trunk
that flex their defiant muscles to delicate iris petals that seem ready to take
flight.
Real
though the birds and florals may seem, the paintings are not mere copies of
nature.
There
is as much idealization of reality in them as is to be found in the best of the
Sung dynasty
Academy
tradition. The perfect forms and
their occasional imperfections (in a crumpled leaf or
broken
branch) are ail calculated to complete a delightful rhythmic composition.
Keinen's
artistic development started at the age of fourteen when he studied with the
master
painter Suzuki Kotobu, whose 1888 introduction appears in his own seasoned
calli-
graphy
at the beginning of the album here (the second introductory essay was written in
1889
by
Yamamoto Akio, another noted name in Japanese art and literature, also in his
own elegant
calligraphy).
Keinen applied himself to the study of calligraphy at the same time and did not
begin
accepting students until he reached twenty-six. His country honored him with
such a title
as
Artist of the Japanese Empire, and a membership in the
More
than the famous albums of this genre that have retained a position of honor in
the
Chinese painting tradition (The
Ten-bamboo
Studio Album by Hu Yueh-ts'ung of the 17th century, or even the Album
of
Precious
Birds by Huang Ch'Uan of the 10th century) the Keinen Album
offers an irresistible
appeal
to general lovers of art and particularly to students learning to paint in this
genre. As a
model
for compositional exercises, and for control of form and color, the album has
been and
will remain an accomplishment to be envied and imitated."
Kai-yu Hsu - Professor of Humanities - San Francisco State University
Item # Keinen160
Price:
$95.00