長閑/驟雨/斜陽/吹雪 － 斜陽

Kawai Gyokudō (1873-1957) was born in Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture. In Kyoto, he studied under Kōno Bairei. At age 23, he moved to Tokyo, where, along with Yokoyama Taikan and others, he became a member of the Japan Art Institute. Serving as a juror at government-sponsored exhibitions and as a professor at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts, he became a key person in the art world in Tokyo. He also received the honor of being an Imperial Household Artist. This set of four large paintings depicts each of the seasons. In Tranquility, bright spring sunlight illuminates a mason who, under a flowering plum tree, amidst yellow dandelions, is chiseling out a stone mortar. Sudden Shower depicts a fisherman leaning on his pole to steady his small craft, which was unsettled by a wet summer squall. From the boldly brushed expression of falling rain, to the feathering of the man’s wind-blown rain cape, the artist has carefully rendered the details. In Setting Sun, two vessels sail across calm water. The western light of the autumn sunset is beautifully rendered with ink and gold paint. Snowstorm shows a highway post town closed by heavy snowfall. At the lower right, shouldering a carrying pole, a figure is trudging across a bridge. Depicting aspects of each season along with scenes from the lives of people who live close to nature, this ambitious work reveals Gyokudō’s excellent eye. It was chosen for the 1930 Japan Fine Arts exhibition in Rome.