The bigger, the better - Byobu collection

一見して明らかなように、その人物表現の特異性は狩野派などとは隔絶しており、樹木の粘着質的な描法と併せて、江戸時代前期に特筆すべき活躍を見せた岩佐又兵衛（1578-1650）との密接な関係をもつ作品と断じてよい。
題材に選ばれているのは「源氏物語」で、向かって右から1、2扇が「空蝉」、3、4扇が「若紫」、そして5、6扇が「明石」の巻を描いている。
又兵衛はかなりの規模の工房を率いていたとおぼしく、その制作時期を推定するのは、やや困難が伴うものの、本図における金雲のたたずまいや金の色合いからしても、又兵衛の晩年まで下るものとは思えない。
本図と同じく中屏風の「源氏物語図」が大和文華館にあり、「若紫」「明石」などが描かれているが、画面の洗練度は本図の方が勝っている。そのことは本図に対する又兵衛の関与がより大きなものであることを示す。
又兵衛風「源氏物語図屏風」の代表的作例の出現を歓びたい。

At first sight it becomes clear that this screen painting bears a relationship to the studio of Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650), a painter who was active in the early Edo period and who set himself apart from the orthodox Kano style.
The painter of the screen selected the Tale of Genji as his theme. In the first and second panels from the right, we notice a scene from the Utsusemi chapter, while the third and fourth panels depict Wakamurasaki and the fifth and sixth panels the Akashi chapter. Matabei seems to have headed a flourishing studio, a fact that makes it difficult to assign specific dates to his works or those by his atelier. Judging from the depiction of the golden clouds and the choices of color, this screen appears to be the product of Matabei’s final years.
A middle-sized screen (chūbyōbu) at the Yamato Bunkakan that also depicts the Tale of Genji chapters Wakamurasaki and Akashi resembles this work. The level of refinement in the present screen, however, exceeds that of the Yamato Bunkakn work. In light of this quality, the screen adds an important piece to Matabei-style depictions of the Tale of Genji.