Ito Jakuchu: eccentric painter
catalog entry Diana Rocklin |
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Ito
Jakuchu (1716-1800) falls into the category of “Eccentric Painters” who do not fall into any one painting
school or tradition. This classification has been interpreted as a reference
to the Eight Eccentrics who were a “similar group of contemporary
individualist painters living in the Chinese port of Yangzhou” (322).
Although the Eccentric Painters all have unique artistic styles, their work
can be understood as a moving away from the rigidity and formality of the
painting traditions that defined much of the 18th century. In Ito Jakuchu’s
work, influences from the Kano style as well as Ito’s love of meticulously
copying Chinese paintings housed in Kyoto’s temples are evident. Even more
so, however, is Ito’s evolution into shaseiga or “copying from nature” and
Rinpa, or “flattening” can also be seen, particularly in this image. The
visual effects of the Rinpa influences result in complex and highly
decorative interplay of images. For example, the viewer can detect a distinct
difference between Ito’s treatment of the amphibians and insects as being
highly naturalistic, detailed, and colorful versus the flattened, simple
treatment of the background. This painting “represents the development on a
larger scale of themes” (Hickman 115) in Jakuchu’s earlier work where he just
would tackle one snake or one gourd at a time. Also interesting to note is
the fact that this type of painting is based on the paintings of “grasses and
insects painting genre” which were “produced in Kiangsu province, China” (115).
The presence of influences from Chinese paintings, Kano, and Rinpa in this
work of art set the tone for the majority of Jakuchu’s paintings, however,
although he pays reverence to several different styles at once, he never
strays from his own vision and eccentric nature. |
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