Rich mineral colors, ink, and gofun on gold paper depict a group of colorful blossoms in bloom. The six-petal flowers are the Clematis, an imported plant with origins in central...
Rich mineral colors, ink, and gofun on gold paper depict a group of colorful blossoms in bloom. The six-petal flowers are the Clematis, an imported plant with origins in central China that were brought into Japan during the mid-17th century where they became greatly popular. Named “Iron wire (tessen)” after their strong vines, the plants became extensively cultured in their new homeland and soon appeared in many colors. Along with the morning glory, they became important subjects for early modern Japanese artists and often appear in paintings, prints, and textile design of the late 17th century onwards.
Flowering in the late spring and early summer, the Clematis became a symbol of the summer - and a perfect image to place on a fan, so that its owner could start fanning him or herself at the first arrival of hot days.
The colors of the fan are applied in a complex manner. For example, a fine under-painting of blue mineral color (crushed lapis lazuli) can be discerned under the oyster shell paste (gofun) of the white petals. The artist carefully constructed the colors so that light traces of blue barely come through the white, adding interest, color, and depth to the image. In a similar way, ink was added under the right-hand blue petals.
The composition, color palette, and the use of the tarashikomi technique clearly mark this work as that of the Rimpa school. The tarashikomi effects can be seen on the ink flowers, where pigments have been dripped into the not-quite dry ink, creating a mottled texture. Ogata Kôrin and his fellow artists created this type of fan, and a number of these works from the eighteenth century are extant. The fans were made of the same shape and same proportions of the present fan and also featured a gold ground.
The front side of the Kôrin fans typically featured figural designs with the seal and signature of the artist. On the back – typically without signatures or seals – were plant and landscape designs of the seasons, featuring bold color designs and striking composition. These simple yet profound compositions were skillfully arranged with a minimum of elements within a small surface. Another interesting feature was the bunching of small details at the very top of the fan, as can be seen in this work and others that have been attributed to Kôrin and his school. A fan with the same ratio and a similar composition (on an autumn theme) can be found in the Gotoh Art Museum in Tokyo. The Gotoh image of maple leaves is also without seal or signature, as Kôrin placed his seals on the other side of the fan, which has now been lost. It is likely that the present fan also stems from the workshop of Ogata Kôrin.