Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958) Japanese, Extremely Long Ink Painting Scroll in Box. A massively panoramic painting of the changing landscape of Japan linked as a story to the life of a man, intended to be rolled up rather than displayed as it would hang horizontally rather than vertically and take up the length of an entire wall. The kanji on the end of the scroll is the same as on the box lid, and an informative paper is included that explains the artist's intentions, the meaning of the story and visuals, and the significance of this copy of the original scroll, which was first exhibited in 1923.
Condition: Some minimal water damage. Overall very good.
Box: 7 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.
Length of Scroll, unrolled: Roughly 16 ft.
#6241 .
Yokoyama Taikan was born Sakai Hidemaro in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan on November 2nd, 1868. He was the eldest son of Sakai Sutehiko, a samurai serving the Mito clan, and when he was being prepared to become a samurai in his father’s place his earliest chosen name was Hidezō, and later Hidematsu. After a change in their fortunes, the family moved to Tokyo in 1878. He studied at the Tōkyō Furitsu Daiichi Chūgakkō, and was fascinated by the English language and in Western-style oil painting. This led him to study pencil drawing with a painter, Watanabe Fumisaburō. In 1888 after his father brought dishonor on himself Yokoyama was adopted into his mother’s family, taking the surname “Yokoyama” and changing his personal name to Hidemaro. In 1889 Yokoyama enrolled in the first graduating class of the Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō, which had just been opened by Okakura Kakuzō. In school, he studied under the Kanō school artist Hashimoto Gahō, and was considered one of the most radical thinkers in his class. Several of his classmates also later became famous artists, including Hishida Shunsō, Shimomura Kanzan, and Saigō Kogetsu. After graduation Yokoyama spent a year teaching at Gakkō, studying Buddhist painting and starting to use the art-name “Taikan.” He returned to Tokyo in 1896 as assistant professor at the Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō, but a year later he joined the ousted Kakuzō in establishing the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin). After the death of his wife he explored the world, visiting and painting New York City, Boston, London, Berlin, Paris and many more in an amazing blend of Western and Eastern styles. His trip to Calcutta in 1902 was immensely important for the evolution of global Modernism, as it resulted in a seminal exchange both of technique and motif with the important early Indian Modernist Abanindranath Tagore. The annual exhibitions of the Japan Fine Arts Academy, which had the abbreviated name Inten, became one of the most important non-governmental outlets for young talents, and Yokoyama’s influence on the university (and future generations of Japanese artists) was massive. Yokoyama’s departure from the traditional method of line drawing was the foundation of Nihonga, and drew heavily on Western impressionists and Chinese silk scroll designs. His style was derided for much of his lifetime, called “Mourou-tai” (“Blurred style”) and considered to show a lack of energy and vitality. In his later years he turned almost exclusively to monochrome ink paintings, and came to be known for his mastery of the various tones and shades of black. In 1935, he was appointed to the Imperial Arts Academy, and in 1937 he was one of the first people to be awarded the Order of Culture as well as the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class. Just before and during World War II he was sent to Italy by the Japanese government as an official creative representative, which led to his capture after Italy’s surrender and questioning by SCAP that diminished his reputation after the surrender of Japan. Yokoyama died on February 26th, 1958 in Tokyo, and his former house is now open to the public as the Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Museum. He is considered one of the most important artists in modern Japanese history, and his brain is preserved in formaldehyde at the University of Tokyo Medical School.
Condition
Some minimal water damage. Overall very good.
