Song of Fishing Among Willows by Taniguchi Aizan

Song of Fishing Among Willows c. 19th century

aged paper

book binding

paper non-digital material

sketch book

personal journal design

japan

personal sketchbook

journal

sketchbook drawing

sketchbook art

design on paper

"Song of Fishing Among Willows" is a traditional Japanese folding fan, or "sensu," painted by Taniguchi Aizan in the 19th century. The artwork, now housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, features a delicate depiction of a serene landscape with a small boat, likely a fishing vessel, amidst a grove of willows. The composition is characteristic of the "sumi-e" (ink wash painting) style, where the artist uses black ink and subtle washes to capture the essence of the scene. The fan serves as a reminder of the artistic tradition of "sensu e," which combines the practicality of a cooling device with the beauty of a hand-painted artwork.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

⋮

Literati-style painting reached peak popularity in Japan in the 1860s and 1870s. Although their works celebrate ideals such as reclusion and amateur art, literati painters like Taniguchi Aizan were actually professional artists active in large urban centers. Many made good livings by selling their paintings on folding fans or hanging scrolls and by receiving commissions. For this folding fan, Aizan created an image of a solitary fisherman gliding in a boat between riverbanks lined by willow trees and remote huts. Such a bucolic scene might have appealed to Aizan’s urban clients in Edo (called Tokyo after 1868) and Kyoto.