Rare Triptych Scroll Paintings by Watanabe Seitei Meiji Period

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A set of three paintings of ink and watercolor on silk mounted within brocade borders as scrolls by Watanabe Seitei … Read more A set of three paintings of ink and watercolor on silk mounted within brocade borders as scrolls by Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918). This is a very rare and well preserved triptych by the artist, signed and dated to the year of 1902, Meiji 35th year. They were likely created for a specific client with a hanging location in mind as each piece was marked left, middle or right as a prearrangement. The middle scroll depicts a samurai in his full armor holding a staff on horseback marching with his two foot soldiers in a mountainous landscape. The left and right scrolls were extensions of the landscape done in his classic Nihonga (New Japanese style) influenced not only by Chinese classic ink wash painting but also a western dimensional, minimalistic and almost impressionist style. Although the landscape is not a physical continuation of the middle part, it conveys a sense of time and place where the traveling trespassed. The left is clearly a summer day with swallows flying in the breeze above a pond dotted with lotus. The mist rises to blur the visage of the hills afar. The right side is a nightly scene under a crescent moon. At the edge of the water, a thatched pavilion perched lonely among the trees Again the ink wash created a dreamy misty effect, suggesting perhaps the unknown nature of the journey. All three scrolls were signed and sealed "Seitei" with the middle one dated to 1902 Spring Summer in Kanji. It appears that the triptych has always been kept as a set in the persimmon wood box with a kiri wood interior holder custom-made for them. Under the cover of the lid, there is a red seal as well as a paper label with a collector's seal on it. However, it is hard to decipher the archaic form completely but it appears to be "Nine Layer Gao Residence collection". When hanging, the measurement is 22' x 82". The measurement posted is the size of the storage wood box.
Watanabe Seitei, also known as Watanabe Shotei (1851–1918), was born in late Edo period. He was one of the earliest Japanese artists who visited and became well-known in the West. In 1878, he travelled to France and attended International Exhibition in Paris and stayed for three years. Due to his exposure to the art in the west, his work, known as Nihonga (Japanese-style), blended a sense of Western realism with Japanese approach to aesthetics by using ink wash and delicate colors. He is also well known for the designs he created for cloisonné artist Namikawa Sosuke (1847–1910), whose work became quite famous and collectible in the west at the beginning of the 20th century. His artistic style had an important and long impact on the later Nihonga painters. See less