Sōtatsu

Sōtatsu

▪ Japanese artist
in full  Tawaraya Sōtatsu 
flourished 1600–30s
 
 Japanese artist of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) who combined the traditional themes of the indigenous school of Japanese narrative scroll painting, known as Yamato-e, with the bold, decorative designs of the great screen painters of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1574–1600). He pioneered the use of such painting techniques as defining shapes and forms with colour rather than with ink outlines and applying multiple layers of paint or ink on to a still-wet first layer. His use of colour, especially gold and silver, and his treatment of space also influenced later artists, notably Ogata Kōrin.

      The dates of Sōtatsu's birth and death are unknown, and the only established facts about his life are that he came from a well-to-do merchant's family and that he was active in Kyōto from approximately 1600 to the 1630s. It is further known that he was given the rank of hokkyō, an honorary title conferred on distinguished artists. Only a few documents and references to Sōtatsu or his work have been found. These consist largely of three letters and a colophon, or inscription, on one of his scrolls. The reason for this paucity of documented information is that Sōtatsu did not belong to officially recognized Kanō, Hasegawa, or Tosa schools of painting, nor did he come from either the nobility or the warrior class (samurai), which traditionally had supplied most of the outstanding Japanese painters.

      Based on Sōtatsu's few dated works, it generally is believed he was born about 1570 and emerged as a prominent artist by the beginning of the 17th century. Because he sometimes called himself Tawaraya Sōtatsu, it is conjectured that he was associated in Kyōto with the Tawaraya weaving factory, which is famed for its Chinese-style textiles. Probably he worked in the Tawaraya factory during the early years of his career, and only after receiving the rank of hokkyō did he sign his works simply Sōtatsu. A diary and a popular novel of the time refer to “Tawaraya pictures” and “Tawaraya fans,” suggesting that the pictorial compositions produced by this factory enjoyed great popularity. This would explain why so many of Sōtatsu's works are fan pictures.

      Just who his teachers were and what instruction he received is not known, but his style is clearly derived from the native Japanese tradition of colourful, decorative painting rather than ink painting (sumi-e) in the Chinese style, although he did work in monochrome, as well as colour. His name has often been linked with that of the artist and impresario Hon'ami Kōetsu, and it has been recorded that these two masters were married to sisters. There are, in fact, several scrolls dating from the beginning of the 17th century that combine the calligraphy of Kōetsu with decorative designs executed in gold and silver by Sōtatsu.

      Since none of Sōtatsu's art was dated, it is impossible to establish a chronology. A group of paintings, however, that he executed for the sliding doors of the Yōgen Temple in Kyōto (rebuilt in 1621 for the wife of the Tokugawa shogun, the military ruler of Japan) indicates that he was already famous at that time, and it has been suggested that he may have been given the title of hokkyō in connection with this commission. With the Yōgen Temple doors Sōtatsu must certainly have attained his artistic maturity and independence, and it is likely that he produced most of the works that he is celebrated for during the succeeding decade.

      Among the works attributed to him, the most outstanding are a pair of sixfold screens depicting episodes from The Tale of Genji (Tale of Genji, The), the great 11th-century novel by Murasaki Shikibu. Now in The Seikado Bunko Art Museum in Tokyo, they originally came, along with several other of his most famous works, from the Sambō Temple in Kyōto. Other works of note are the twofold screen showing bugaku dancers in the Sambō Temple and the pair of twofold screens with the god of thunder and the god of wind in the Kennin Temple, also in Kyōto. Among works by Sōtatsu in the United States, the most outstanding is a pair of sixfold screens in the Freer Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) representing the pine-clad isles in Matsushima Bay.

Hugo Munsterberg

Additional Reading
William Watson (ed.), Sōtatsu (1959); Elise Grilli, Tawaraya Sotatsu . . . (1956); and Judith Burling and Arthur Hart Burling, Sōtatsu (1962), are brief introductions to the work of Sōtatsu by Western scholars. Fuller treatments are provided by Bernard Leach, Kenzan and His Tradition: The Lives and Times of Koetsu, Sotatsu, Korin, and Kenzan (1966); and Hiroshi Mizuo, Edo Painting: Sotatsu and Korin (1972).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sôtatsu — (Nonomura, dit Tawaraya) (déb. XVIIe s.) peintre japonais, notam. sur paravent …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sōtatsu — Sōtatsu,   Tawaraya, ✝ 1643 (?), einer der Hauptmeister der dekorativen Malerei in Japan; erfand den später von der Rimpa Schule formulierten Stil, der die Themen des Yamato e ins Ornamentale umformte. Er arbeitete mit Kōetsu und signierte,… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • SOTATSU (NONOMURA) — Au début du XVIIe siècle, lors de la création du sh 拏gunat des Tokugawa, Ky 拏to, perdant sa puissance politique, reste le centre culturel et artistique du Japon. Tandis que Ieyasu utilisait les principes de l’éthique confucianiste pour consolider …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Tawaraya Sotatsu — 風神雷神図 (Fūjin und Raijin) Tawaraya Sōtatsu (jap. 俵屋 宗達; * 1600; † 1643) war ein japanischer Künstler und Mitbegründer der Rimpa, einer Schule der japanischen Malerei. Sōtatsu begann seine Karriere als Fächermaler in Kyōto …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tawaraya Sōtatsu — 風神雷神図 (Fūjin und Raijin) Tawaraya Sōtatsu (jap. 俵屋 宗達; * 1600; † 1643) war ein japanischer Künstler und Mitbegründer der Rimpa, einer Schule der japanischen Malerei. Sōtatsu …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tawaraya Sotatsu — Tawaraya Sōtatsu 風神雷神図(Fūjin et Raijin) Tawaraya Sōtatsu (俵屋宗達, Tawaraya Sōtatsu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tawaraya Sōtatsu — nihongo|Tawaraya Sōtatsu|俵屋宗達 ( fl . early 1600s) was a Japanese artist and also the co founder of the Rimpa school of Japanese painting. Sōtatsu began to work as a fan painter in Kyoto. Later, he rose to work for the court as a producer of fine… …   Wikipedia

  • Tawaraya Sōtatsu — 風神雷神図(Fūjin et Raijin) Tawaraya Sōtatsu (俵屋宗達, Tawaraya Sōtatsu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tawaraya Sōtatsu — Este artículo está titulado de acuerdo a la onomástica japonesa, en que el apellido precede al nombre. 風神雷神図 (Fūjin y Raijin). Tawaraya Sōtatsu (俵屋宗達 …   Wikipedia Español

  • arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”