Kido Shunpo
Chicken under Peach Tree, 1920s
Two-panel folding screen; mineral pigments on silk
Size each screen 66½ x 67 in. (169 x 170 cm)
T-4655
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Pair of two-panel folding screens; mineral pigments, ink, and gofun (powdered calcified shell), on silk mounted on an internal wood lattice within a black lacquer frame with metal corner pieces...
Pair of two-panel folding screens; mineral pigments, ink, and gofun (powdered calcified shell), on silk mounted on an internal wood lattice within a black lacquer frame with metal corner pieces
Signed and sealed at the lower left of the left-hand screen Shunpō
Born in Kyoto in 1900 (birth name Keitarō), Kidō Sōi, who worked under the named Kidō Shunpō until about 1930, began his formal training at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts but left before graduating. In 1918, he became a disciple of Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871-1933) and, after Shunkyo’s death, continued his studies under Kawamura Manshū (1880-1942). Prodigiously talented, his work was accepted for the Teiten national salon in Tokyo as early as 1919 but he later re-enrolled at the Kyoto School, graduating in 1926. From 1928 until 1940 he exhibited regularly, participating in a total of nine official exhibitions including the Teiten and its successors the Reformed Teiten and the Shin Bunten, as well as the special exhibition held in 1940 to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of Japan’s imperial line. He also showed work at the Shōtoku Taishi exhibition, another major government-sponsored event held in 1926. In his later years Kidō Sōi worked independently, unaffiliated with any formal art organizations. He lived in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto and remained an active participant in the Kyoto art scene throughout his career.
In this serene late-summer tableau a pair of chickens, allowed to roam freely in an orchard, rest peacefully beneath the generous canopy of a fruit-laden peach tree. A lone sparrow, mid-chirp, perches delicately on a branch to the far left, animating the stillness with a fleeting moment of sound. Below, maize plants—entwined with a vigorous climbing vine—display darkening beards, a signal that the harvest is near. To the right, the chickens nestle beside three hōsenka (garden balsam or Impatiens balsamina), their vivid red blossoms arranged in elegant spirals adding an extra splash of color to the composition.
The painting draws upon the Rinpa tradition, a school of decorative painting that flourished from the seventeenth century, particularly evident in the use of tarashikomi—a technique where a second layer of pigment is applied before the first has dried, creating a mottled texture. This is employed in the depiction of lichen on the peach tree’s trunk, where the layered paint evokes the damp, mottled surface of aged bark. The overall execution, however, departs from Rinpa’s flat stylization: the soft brushwork and subtle modeling reflect the influence of Western techniques that permeated much Nihonga (neo-nativist Japanese painting) during the Taisho and early Showa periods.
This pair of screens can be confidently dated to the late 1920s, based on the artist’s continuing use of the name Shunpō in the signature and stylistic parallels with two other works exhibited during this time: Shinō (Bamboo Grass, 1927) and Miyama (1928). Both share a compositional focus on close-up botanical subjects, suggesting a sustained interest in the intimate observation of seasonal flora and the quiet rhythms of rural life.
Signed and sealed at the lower left of the left-hand screen Shunpō
Born in Kyoto in 1900 (birth name Keitarō), Kidō Sōi, who worked under the named Kidō Shunpō until about 1930, began his formal training at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts but left before graduating. In 1918, he became a disciple of Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871-1933) and, after Shunkyo’s death, continued his studies under Kawamura Manshū (1880-1942). Prodigiously talented, his work was accepted for the Teiten national salon in Tokyo as early as 1919 but he later re-enrolled at the Kyoto School, graduating in 1926. From 1928 until 1940 he exhibited regularly, participating in a total of nine official exhibitions including the Teiten and its successors the Reformed Teiten and the Shin Bunten, as well as the special exhibition held in 1940 to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of Japan’s imperial line. He also showed work at the Shōtoku Taishi exhibition, another major government-sponsored event held in 1926. In his later years Kidō Sōi worked independently, unaffiliated with any formal art organizations. He lived in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto and remained an active participant in the Kyoto art scene throughout his career.
In this serene late-summer tableau a pair of chickens, allowed to roam freely in an orchard, rest peacefully beneath the generous canopy of a fruit-laden peach tree. A lone sparrow, mid-chirp, perches delicately on a branch to the far left, animating the stillness with a fleeting moment of sound. Below, maize plants—entwined with a vigorous climbing vine—display darkening beards, a signal that the harvest is near. To the right, the chickens nestle beside three hōsenka (garden balsam or Impatiens balsamina), their vivid red blossoms arranged in elegant spirals adding an extra splash of color to the composition.
The painting draws upon the Rinpa tradition, a school of decorative painting that flourished from the seventeenth century, particularly evident in the use of tarashikomi—a technique where a second layer of pigment is applied before the first has dried, creating a mottled texture. This is employed in the depiction of lichen on the peach tree’s trunk, where the layered paint evokes the damp, mottled surface of aged bark. The overall execution, however, departs from Rinpa’s flat stylization: the soft brushwork and subtle modeling reflect the influence of Western techniques that permeated much Nihonga (neo-nativist Japanese painting) during the Taisho and early Showa periods.
This pair of screens can be confidently dated to the late 1920s, based on the artist’s continuing use of the name Shunpō in the signature and stylistic parallels with two other works exhibited during this time: Shinō (Bamboo Grass, 1927) and Miyama (1928). Both share a compositional focus on close-up botanical subjects, suggesting a sustained interest in the intimate observation of seasonal flora and the quiet rhythms of rural life.