HOME

> “Views of Matsushima and Shiogama”

松島塩竈図屏風

江戸時代(17世紀)
(各)358.8 × 137(高さ)cm
六曲一双、紙本金泥着色

“Views of Matsushima and Shiogama”

Edo period, 17th century
358.8 × 137 (height) cm, each
Pair of folding screens in six panels, painted on paper in ink, mineral pigment, and gold paint

Price

Price on request


Dr.K says

地面を金箔で処理していないことから、あえて品質を紙本金雲着色した。
描かれているのは東北の景勝地であり、古くから和歌に詠まれて歌枕ともなった名所である松島と塩竈の風景を描く。いわゆる名所景物画である。一双形式の構図感覚からいって、向かって右隻に松島の佳景と瑞巌寺と描いた松島図、左隻に塩竈神社と海水を煮て塩を作る塩竈(釜)の光景のある塩竈図を配した屏風と言える。
歌枕を組み合わせた屏風は多作されたらしく、天橋立、厳島、住吉社、四天王寺、和歌の浦、松島など様々に対にした作品のある事が報告されて来たが、松島と塩竈で一双としたものは、筆者の経験ではあとわずか1点に過ぎない。
紙幅は34センチほど、箔の大きさは10センチ弱(三寸)、箔の色の鮮やかな印象からして制作時期は17世紀半ばを下るものではない。
注目すべきは、画面のそこかしこに描出された細かい人物表現であって、その練達の筆さばきは狩野派の中でも一等優れたものと認められる。制作時期は17世紀半ばからさらに遡らせるべきであろう。岩肌の表現技術からもそう言える。
名所景物画でありながら、ハイレベルの風俗画と位置付けてよい。
細かな地名が附記されていることから見ると、東北から遠く離れた京都の人士の注文による作画かと思われる。金箔および絵具の品質の高さがそれを物語っている。江戸時代初頭の名所景物風俗画の逸品といえる。

The work is not fully coated in gold leaf, allowing us to glimpse the paper ground onto which the colors and golden clouds were applied. The painting depicts two famous locales in the area of northeastern Japan that have been used as poetic tropes for centuries: Matsushima and Shiogama. Paintings like this one belong to an established category of artworks showcasing sites lauded in traditional Japanese poetry. Making skillful use of the large pictorial area available, the right screen of the pair depicts Matsushima alongside one of its landmarks, the temple Zuiganji. The left screen presents us with Shiogama Shrine and the salt pans along the shore that gave the locale—Shiogama literally means “salt furnace”—its name.
Similar screens that pair different poetic sites were popular, and were produced in large numbers. We find works depicting Amanohashidate, Itsukushima, Sumiyoshi Shrine, Shitennōji, Wakanoura, Matsushima, among other places that also frequently appear in Japanese poetry. However, the pairing of Matsushima and Shiogama is unique, and this pair of screens might be the only known such example.
The width of the individual sheets of paper that form the painting’s ground have a width of roughly 34 centimeters, and the gold leaves are each circa 10 centimeters wide. These features along with the general sense of vivacity and the sumptuous colors allow for a dating to the mid-17th century.
Of note are the small figures scattered throughout the painting, whose style and attention to detail is reminiscent of some of the finest Kano-school paintings. It is fair to assume that the painting may even date to an earlier time than the mid-17th century, an assumption supported by the rendering of the rock surfaces throughout.
Although the work belongs to the category of poetic images, it is also an exquisite genre painting. The written labels specifying individual sites within the painting suggest that the work may have been made for a person of means living in a region far removed from those depicted, such as Kyoto. The sumptuous use of gold leaf and the high-quality pigments speak of the expense necessary for commissioning the work. The pair of screens is truly a masterpiece of early Edo-period poetic and genre painting.