Dawn on Oshima Island

TitleDawn on Oshima Island
Artist伊東深水 ITO Shinsui
Date1916
Mediumcolor on paper
Dimensions156.0×76.6
ClassificationJapanese-style Paintings
Accession NumberJJ198900001000
SummaryThis painting was shown in the New Japanese-style Painters exhibition organized by the Hochi Shimbun in 1918 when Shinsui was twenty. It is an enlarged, modified version of a part of “Milking House,” a painting accepted in the 3rd annual exhibition of the re-established Inten in 1916, which was based on a scene observed by the artist on the island of Oshima. There is a great difference in style, however, between the two paintings. The former is very detailed and realistic, while this work is remarkable for its bold design. Mica has been used on the entire surface, heightening the decorative quality of the painting. This is an example of applying mica rubbing techniques used in printmaking to painting. The same method was used in Kobayashi Kokei’s “Rain” (1917). The colored lines which fill the entire surface show a possible influence from the literati style of Imamura Shiko. There is also a localized use of chiaroscuro. Shinsui had not yet established his mature style at this point, and this painting is an example of the ambitious efforts made by young painters of the Taisho period, who ignored conventions as they tried one experiment after another.

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