Cherry blossoms and maples

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were an inspired time for artists in Japan, who sought to infuse their traditions with modernity while retaining an essential Japanese spirit. At the forefront were artists of the 'nihonga' school, experimenting with new techniques, often inspired by Western perspective and chiaroscuro. In this brilliant and unusual pair of screens, the sense of the contemporary is fused with the traditional. The emphatically rich colours of the autumnal maples, punctuated with deeper moments in red, gold and pale green, contrast with the quiet and economic aesthetic of spring cherry blossoms. The white cherry blossom is bunched at the bottom of the screen, against an expanse of gold-flecked sky and the silver-metallic ovoid shaped moon. The result is a perfect study in ambiguity: in design and imbalance, space and denseness. Kawabata Gyokushô was one of the most prominent of the 'nihonga' artists at the turn of the nineteenth century. The son of a 'maki-e' lacquer artist, he studied the Maruyama school of 'nihonga' and oil painting technique with Takahashi Yuichi, Japan's first important and influential oil painter.

Art Gallery Handbook, 1999. pg. 283.