Asian Court Labels Nov 2014

The artist Hidaka Tetsuo was part of the Nanga movement in Japan that looked to Chinese painting for inspiration. Artists of the Nanga school were particularly interested in Chinese Southern-style painting, made by amateur scholar–artists who aimed to communicate their innermost feelings. Landscapes at different seasons of the year and varying times of day had emotional associations that were especially suited to this form of expression.
Artists working in Japan could learn about Chinese paintings by studying them, and Hidaka Tetsuo had direct access to such works of art. Tetsuo also had the good fortune to train directly with the Chinese master Jiang Jiapu, a versatile artist who first visited Nagasaki in 1804 and who painted in a conservative literati manner of the Qing period (1644-1911).
The scroll is signed and dated, and is inscribed with a poem referring to a spring morning.
Last Updated: 2/3/2016