酒井抱一筆亀田鵬斎賛 竹雀図|Sparrow and Bamboo

Kameda Bōsai|Sakai Hōitsu

ca. 1821 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

In this narrow composition a sparrow balances on a branchlet of bamboo; the silvery tones of the primary stalk contrast with the dark ink of its leaves and joints. Sakai Hōitsu is best known for his revival of the art of Rinpa-school master Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) and for his polychrome paintings in the Rinpa style. He was also a master of ink, however, as this lively collaborative work indicates. Kameda Bōsai, a Confucian scholar, inscribed colophons on paintings by several important artists of his day, including Hōitsu and his younger follower Suzuki Kiitsu (1799–1858). Here, his cursive calligraphy appears just below Hōitsu’s perching sparrow. Bōsai often claimed to work while intoxicated, which may account for the hasty but animated quality of his brushwork.

Artist

Kameda Bōsai|Sakai Hōitsu

Date

ca. 1821

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015