Mori Sosen, Watanabe Nangaku and Kimura Kanzan “Butterflies with Morning Glory”

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IItem No.
Title	“Butterflies with Morning Glory”
Overall size
Artwork size
Artist	Mori Sosen, Watanabe Nangaku and Kimura Kanzan
Date Created	Edo period（after 1807）
Price	¥700,000（excluding tax ）

　This work is cool to the eye with its summery morning glories painted on the mount.This work is a collaboration between Mori Sosen(1747-1821) and Watanabe Nangaku (1767-1813), both painters active in the middle to late Edo period.

　Both Sosen and Nangaku established their own style of painting under the influence of Maruyama Okyo in Kyoto and Osaka during the same period. Sosen excelled at exquisite animal paintings, while Nangaku gained popularity for his elegant beauty paintings. …… Although the two artists had different areas of expertise, it seems that they sometimes collaborated on the same subject matter, as shown in this painting.

　While Sosen’s butterflies have detailed wings and antennae, Nandake’s butterflies are painted with fewer brush strokes and seem more abbreviated, taking advantage of the blotches in the paint.
The vivid green painted mounting is the work of Kimura Kanzan (1835-?), a painter of the Maruyama school in the late Edo and Meiji periods. The morning glories with a youthful vitality enhance the charm of the dainty butterflies.

　This is a valuable work that allows us to enjoy the collaboration of painters active in the Kyoto-Osaka area that transcends generations.
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Mori Sosen (1747-1821) was an Osaka painter who established his own realistic painting style under the influence of the Kano school and Maruyama Okyo. He excelled in animal paintings, especially monkeys.
This work is thought to have been painted after 1807, when he changed his name on the occasion of his 60th birthday, since the inscription “狙仙” instead of “祖仙”.

　Watanabe Nangaku (1767-1813) was a painter of the Maruyama School. He is one of the Ten Schools of Omon（Maruyama Okyo’s disciple）. He first studied painting under Genki, then Maruyama Okyo, and became a personal admirer of Ogata Korin, specializing in paintings of beautiful women and scaly fish. In his later years, he is known to have gone to Edo to promote the Maruyama school.

　Kimura Kanzan (1835-?) was a painter of the Maruyama school who studied painting under Maruyama Oritsu (1817-1875) and was active in Osaka at the end of the Edo period and during the Meiji era.

As an antique, it may have some scratches or blemishes. We recommend that you visit our store to check the condition.
If you wish, we will send you detailed photos of the item, so please feel free to contact us.