269 - MARUYAMA OKYO: DRAGON ASCENDING MOUNT FUJI

MARUYAMA OKYO: DRAGON ASCENDING MOUNT FUJI By Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795) or a close follower, sealed Okyo and Chusen Japan, 1790s, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Forrer, Matthi [ed.] (2020) Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, p. 181, cat. no. 165. Exhibited: MUSEC Villa Malpensata, Lugano, Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, 17 July 2020-11 April 2021. MAO Museo d'Arte Orientale, Turin, Kakemono: Five centuries of Japanese painting. The Perino Collection, 12 November 2021-25 April 2022. Ink on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a silk brocade frame with ivory jikusaki (roller ends). Finely painted with a sinuous dragon ascending through dark billowing clouds toward the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji, turbulent waves surging below, the atmospheric composition rendered almost entirely in subtly modulated ink washes. Inscriptions: To the right, seals 應舉 Okyo and 仲選 Chusen. Image SIZE 127.2 x 46.2 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 201.3 x 62 cm Provenance: Ex-collection Dr. Claudio Perino, Turin, Italy, acquired mostly in Japan in the early 2000s. Dr. Claudio Perino (b. 1951) is a collector with a keen interest in Japanese, Chinese and Far Eastern cultures. His collection consists of over 2000 works of art, partly loaned to the Museum of Oriental Arts (MAO) in Turin, Italy and to the Museo delle Culture (MUSEC) in Lugano, Switzerland. Condition: Very good condition with expected wear. Little staining, foxing, tiny losses, a crease through the center with associated repairs, minor rubbing. The mounting with minor wear, reinforced along the top at the reverse. Important notice: Please note that we will need to remove the ivory roller ends before shipping / handing over the item. The roller ends are not part of this offer. Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795), from present-day Kameoka, Kyoto, was a student at the Kano school of painting. He gained much renown after his first commission, the Seven Misfortunes and Seven Fortunes. As his public image grew, Okyo founded his own school in Kyoto, the Maruyama school of painting, dedicated to his style of blending Western naturalism with Eastern decorative designs. He taught his students to rely on nature to render images in a realistic picture of light, shadow, and forms. The school grew popular, and branches soon appeared in other locations, including Osaka. Much of the school's work is today preserved at Daijo-ji, a temple in Kasumi. Noteworthy pupils include Okyo's son, Maruyama Ozui, Nagasawa Rosetsu, and Matsumura Goshun. The combination of the dragon and Mount Fuji brings together two of the most potent symbols in Japanese visual culture. Traditionally regarded as a divine creature capable of ascending to the heavens, the dragon came to symbolize success, growth, and the overcoming of obstacles. Mount Fuji, by contrast, has long been revered as a sacred peak and associated with longevity and eternity. The pairing thus creates a powerful contrast between stillness and movement, permanence and ascent: the immovable, snow-capped mountain set against the sinuous dragon rising dynamically through the heavens. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related hanging scroll by the artist’s school, also bearing the seals Okyo and Chusen, dated 1787, 41 x 60 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 12 May 2011, London, lot 334 (sold for GBP 45,600 or approx. EUR 82,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).