Information AboutMaruyama Okyo |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MARUYAMA ŌKYO | |
| 1795 deaths | |
| japanese buddhists | |
| japanese painters | |
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Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795; 円山 応挙), born '''Maruyama Masataka''', was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto at a young age, during which he studied artworks from Chinese , Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western Naturalism mixed with Eastern decorative design emerged, and Ōkyo founded the Maruyama School of painting. Although many of his fellow artists criticized his work as too slavishly devoted to natural representation, it proved a success with laymen. EARLY CAREER Ōkyo was born into a Farming family in Ano-o, in present-day Kameoka, Kyoto . As a teen-ager, he moved to Kyoto and joined the townspeople ('' Chōnin '') class. He apprenticed for a toy shop, where he painted the faces onto dolls. The shop began selling European Stereoscope s, novelties that when looked into presented the illusion of a three-dimensional image. It was Ōkyo's first look at Western-style Perspective ,Sullivan 16. and in 1767 he tried his hand at one of the images. He created ''Harbour View'', a small picture in Single-point Perspective . Ōkyo soon mastered the techniques of drawing stereoscope images ( Japanese : ''megane-e'', eyeglass pictures). Ōkyo decided to pursue a career as an artist. He first studied under Ishida Yūtei , a member of the Kanō School and ultimately a bigger influence on Ōkyo than the stereoscope images.Mason 319. During these formative years, Ōkyo studied Chinese painting as well. He particularly admired the works of Ch'ien Hsüan , a 13th century painter known for his detailed flower drawings, and Ch'iu Ying , a 16th century figure painter.Paine 226. In fact, the "kyo" in Ōkyo's name was adopted in tribute to Ch'ien Hsüan. Ōkyo even briefly adopted the Chinese practice of signing his name with one character, so for a time he was known as Ōkyo En. He studied the works of Shen Nan-p'in , a Chinese artist who who lived in Nagasaki from 1731 to 1733 and painted images of flowers. However, Ōkyo did not like the artist's treatment of Proportion , preferring the works of Watanabe Shikō .Paine 225-6. He also studied Ming and Ch'ing paintings.Noma 150. Perhaps most significantly, Ōkyo eagerly studied any Western paintings or prints he could find. SUCCESS Ōkyo's first major commission came in 1768 from Yūjū, abbot of a temple in Ōtsu called Emmanin . Over the next three years, Ōkyo painted '' The Seven Fortunes And Seven Misfortunes '', a depiction of the results of both good and bad karma. The three scrolls total about 148 ft (45 m) in length. Ōkyo tried to find models for the people depicted in them, even for the shocking images such as a man being ripped in two by frightened bulls.Mason 320. His introduction to the work states that he believed that people needed to see reality, not imaginary images of Nirvana or Hell, if they were to truly believe in Buddhist principles.Mason 319-20. Other painters were critical of Ōkyo's style. They found it to be overly concerned with physical appearances, alleging that he was too beholden to the real world and produced undignified works. Nevertheless, his style proved popular with the public, and commissions came in to do Western-style Landscape s, decorative screens, and Nudes . He did Life Drawing s and used them for material in his paintings.Sadao 223. In fact, Ōkyo was probably the first Japanese artist to do life drawings from nude models. The subject was still considered Pornographic in Japan. During career he painted for wealthy merchants, the Shogunate , even the Emperor .Paine 228. The public's perception of Ōkyo's skill is evident in a legend recounted by Van Briessen. The story goes that a Daimyo commissioned Ōkyo to paint a "ghost image" of a lost family member. Once the work was completed, the ghost image came off the painting and flew away.Van Briessen 27. MARUYAMA SCHOOL Success prompted Ōkyo to start a school in Kyoto, where he could teach his new style. He was a talented art teacher, and he soon took on many students. He taught them to rely on nature to render images in a realistic picture of light, shadow, and forms. The school grew popular, and branches soon appeared in other locations, including Osaka . Much of the school's work is today preserved at Daijō-ji , a temple in Toyooka (formerly Kinosaki , Hyogo Prefecture ). Noteworthy pupils include Ōkyo's son, Maruyama Ōzui , Nagasawa Rosetsu , and Matsumura Goshun . Goshun joined Ōkyo's school in 1787. That year, the Maruyama school took a commission to paint screens for Daijō-ji , a temple in Kinosaki , Hyōgo Prefecture . Later that year, Kyoto suffered a devastating fire, so Ōkyo and Goshun moved into a temple called Kiunin . The two became fast friends, and Ōkyo refused to regard their relationship as that of a teacher and student.Mason 322. Goshun later went on to found the Shijō School . STYLE Ōkyo's painting style merged a tranquil version of Western Naturalism with the Eastern decorative painting of the Kanō School .Sadao 214. His works show a Western understanding of highlight and shadow. His realism differed from previous Japanese schools in its devotion to nature as the ultimate source with no regard for sentiment. Ōkyo's intricately detailed plant and animal sketches show a great influence from European nature drawings. An album of leaves in the Nishimura Collection in Kyoto (now in handscroll form) depicts several animals and plants, each labeled as if in European guidebook.Sullivan 16, 18. Still, Ōkyo's works remain Japanese. Unlike European painting, Ōkyo's images have very few midtones. Moreover, he follows the Eastern tradition in depicting objects with very little setting; often his pictures feature a single subject on a plain background. The result is a more immediate naturalism with a decorative and reflective feel. This was achieved through skillful brush handling; Ōkyo painted with a broad, flat brush, which he would load with more paint on one side. This created broad strokes that vary in paint coverage.Paine 225. Nature was not his only subject; many works by Ōkyo depict normal scenes from life in Kyoto's commercial area. His ''Geese Alighting on Water'', painted at Emmanin , Ōtsu in 1767, is an early example of his mature style. The subject is treated as a part of nature; nothing philosophical is implied as had been done with such imagery in the East Asian tradition. Likewise, ''Kingfisher and Trout'', painted in 1769, features a bird near the top of the image, waiting for a fish. The trout swims under a large rock near the center. Bird, fish, and stone all appear as they do in nature, creating a matter-of-fact, comprehensible, and natural-looking piece. Later in his ouvre, ''Pine Trees in Snow'', executed in 1773 for the wealthy Mitsui Family , is realistic despite being in the Japanese idiom of ink on a gold background. The two six-panel screens show tree bark and pine needles separated by differing brush strokes, and the white snow seems to weight down the branches.Paine 227. The bark is painted in the '' Tsuketate '' technique, which uses no outlines, just dark and light shades to create the illusion of volume. ''Hozu Rapids'', painted in 1795, is one of Ōkyo's later works. On two eight-fold screens it depicts a tree and a cluster of rocks with some dragons. The work thus shows Ōkyo's ability to render the natural elements in a convincingly realistic fashion. However, the dragons, according to art critics such as Paine, demonstrate a weakness; they are treated academically, thus losing their grand, legendary essence.Paine 227-8. NOTES REFERENCES
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