Within Australia
All orders ship freewithin Australia
Rest of the World
Orders over A$300
ship free worldwide
Artist:
Ogata Gekko (1859 - 1920)
In Genji Goju-yon Cho, chapter 10, Sakaki. Prince Genji gives a tree branch to court ladies. From Ogata Gekko’s, Fifty Four Chapters of Tale of Genji. The Tale of Genji was written shortly after the year 1000 in Japan’s Heian era, … Read Full Description
Sold
Within Australia
Rest of the World
Orders over A$300
ship free worldwide
Full Title:
Date:
Artist:
Ogata Gekko (1859 - 1920)
Condition:
Technique:
Image Size:
Genuine antique
dated:
Description:
In Genji Goju-yon Cho, chapter 10, Sakaki. Prince Genji gives a tree branch to court ladies.
From Ogata Gekko’s, Fifty Four Chapters of Tale of Genji.
The Tale of Genji was written shortly after the year 1000 in Japan’s Heian era, when the capital was situated at Heian-kyo(present day Kyoto).
Biography:
Ogata Gekko (1859-1920)
Gekko’s was born Nakagami Masanosuke in the Kobayashi district of Edo (Tokyo), and lived most of his life in the same district. His father was a wealthy merchant who ran the family business which had been established for several generations.
Gekko was orphaned at the age of 16 when his father died and his family lost their businesses and had to open a lantern shop. The teenage Gekko survived by designing rickshaws and selling his drawings. His rickshaws were shown at the Interior Exhibition of Industrial Design as examples of fine contemporary craftsmanship.
After this and after producing an immense number of paintings and sketches, he was recognized by such important figures as the artist Kawanabe Kyosai (often credited for ‘discovering’ Gekko) and the famous Ogata family, direct descendants of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists, Ogata Korin (who was himself older brother to the legendary artist, Ogata Kenzan). Ogata Koya adopted him and the young artist appended their family name to the name he gave himself, Gekko, which means ‘Moonlight’.
Though Gekko would later become a founding member and developer of several important art institutions, including Nihon Bijutsu Kyôkaï, Nihon Seinen Kaïga Kyôkaï (the Japan Youth Painting Association), the Academy of Japanese Art, the Bunten (the Ministry of Education’s annual juried exhibition), and an actively participating member of the Nihon Bijitsuin and the Meiji Fine Art Association, he never attended art school himself, nor did he undergo the traditional apprenticeship in a print maker’s studio. In a society that discouraged self-promotion, Gekko began his art career by preparing flyers and taking them around to various publishers and places to sell his services as an illustrator for magazines and newspapers and a designer of lacquerware and pottery.
Although his techniques were thoroughly modern, Gekko considered himself to be firmly rooted in the ukiyo-e tradition. Though he had no teacher himself, he had some outstanding pupils during a 30 year teaching career, including Yamamura Toyonari (Koka), his son Ogata Getsuzan, Kanamori Nanko, and Tsukioka Kôgyo (1869-1927), whose mother had married the Meiji Period’s other great artist, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
© 2023 Antique Print & Map Room. All rights reserved. ABN: 96 162 378 326.
Exchange rates are only indicative. All orders will be processed in Australian dollars. The actual amount charged may vary depending on the exchange rate and conversion fees applied by your credit card issuer.
Join our exclusive mailing list for first access to new acquisitions and special offers.