271 - KISHI GANKU: TIGER UNDER A PINE TREE

KISHI GANKU: TIGER UNDER A PINE TREE Attributed to Kishi Ganku (1756-1839), signed Ganku with seal Kakan Ganku Japan, 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Ink and watercolors on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll within a silk brocade mounting with bone jikusaki (roller ends). Finely painted with a powerful tiger seated beneath an overhanging pine tree, its striped coat rendered in subtly modulated brushwork, the animal with an alert, penetrating gaze. Inscription: To the upper right, signed 岸駒 Ganku with seal 可観岸駒 Kakan Ganku. A second, partially illegible seal to the composition with the characters: 雅 (ga), 駒 (koma), 観 (kan), […]. To the back, inscribed 岸駒之虎 Ganku no tora [Tiger by Ganku]. Image SIZE 125 x 51 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 209.5 x 68 cm Condition: Very good condition with wear and little fading to colors. Few folds and creasing, minor foxing, water stains and scattered soiling. The frame with usual traces of wear and age, and small losses to the silk at the back. Kishi Ganku (1756-1838) was the founder of the Kishi school and became particularly celebrated for his forceful depictions of tigers. Drawing on Kano-school painting, Chinese naturalistic traditions associated with Shen Nanpin, and the observational approach of contemporary Kyoto painting, he developed a distinctive manner combining meticulous linear description with vigorous brushwork. Tigers became his signature subject, their coats frequently built up from dense, needle-like strokes against more freely brushed landscape elements. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related hanging scroll painting of a tiger, by the same artist, mid-Edo period, in the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Hachioji. The museum specifically notes the animal's frontal pose, piercing gaze, and Ganku's characteristic trembling line.