Ogata Kōrin (1658 – 1716)
Nationality | Japanese |
Where Artist Lived | Kyoto, Japan |
Associated Movements | Rinpa school |
Famous Artworks | Irises screen (1705) Chrysanthemums (1706) Red and White Plum Blossoms (1710) |
Ogata Kōrin was born in 1658 into a wealthy family that dealt with the sale and design of textiles to the richer women of the city. His father introduced him to the various arts and he often worked together with his brother, Kenzan. Not only did he paint in various Japanese art styles, but he also was a designer and lacquerer. However, Kōrin is most well known for his decorated folding screens.
- Important Art Object Flowering Plants in Autumn (18th century), attributed to Ogata Kōrin; Attributed to Ogata Kōrin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Kōrin has also been noted as reviving the Rinpa school, which had been founded 50 years previously by masters Sōtatsu and Hon’ami Kōetsu. Kōrin disregarded the norms and conventions of Naturalism and created his unique style, which encompassed the use of simplified forms and the styles of Impressionism.
Kōrin focused on using patterns of color in an abstract manner to convey a sense of flat, one-dimensional decorative design.
- Red and White Plum Blossoms (1710)
Date | 1710 |
Medium | Color with silver and gold leaf on paper |
Dimensions (cm) | 156 x 172 |
Where It Is Housed | MOA Museum of Art, Atami, Japan |
Red and White Plum Blossoms is one of the most famous paintings in Japan, currently residing at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, and is registered as a national treasure. This simple yet beautifully stylized two-panel folding screen portrays a flowing river decorated with swirling flat waves and plum trees on either side of it. The presence of plum blossoms suggests to the viewer that the scene represents the spring period.
- Red and White Plum Blossoms (1710) by Ogata Kōrin; Ogata Kōrin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This work is considered a great example of the Rinpa school of painting, where Kōrin applied a technique called Tarashikomi to create the mottled look of the trees. This texture is created by placing a series of droplets on each other without the usual period of drying, usually practiced when painting. It is thought that, based on the dating of the paintings and other evidence, this was most likely Ogata Kōrin’s final painted piece before his passing in 1716.
