Rinpa is the name given to a group of artists whose work is characterized by bright colors, bold forms, lavish surfaces (often enhanced with gold and silver), the frequent use of a bird's-eye perspective, and a reliance on the painting styles and literary themes popular during the late Heian period (794-1185), when the Japanese court and nobility in Kyoto had been at their political and cultural height.
Rinpa means 'rin school'; the term is derived from the last syllable of the name Korin in honorof Ogata Korin (1658-1716), one of the most influential artists of this school. The Rinpa ancestry is traced back to the painter and calligrapher Tawaraya Sotatsu (active 1600-1640) and Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637), best known for his calligraphy and pottery. Sotatsu, Koetsu, and Korin belonged to the
machishu class of Kyoto society, wealthy, educated merchants who socialized with and catered to the Kyoto aristocracy, many of whom were impoverished. The interest in reviving early court culture that permeates the art of the Rinpa school is a reflection of the close cultural and personal ties between the
machishu and the aristocracy.
Little is known about the life of Sotatsu. He began his career as a commercial painter and is known to have owned a fan shop called the Tawaraya. Although Tawaraya is the surname most commonly given to this artist, it is possible that his family name was either Kitagawa or Nonomura, names found among the lists of his followers. It has traditionally been accepted that around 1602 Sotatsu worked on the restoration of the 1164 Lotus Sutra dedicated by the Taira family and owned by the Itsukushima Shrine, the Heiki nokyo, now classified as a National Treasure. His work on this valuable illustrated scrollindicates that he was already considered an important artist. He was most active in the 1620s, and it is to this decade that most of his major paintings and collaborative calligraphic works are assigned.
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Rinpa is the name given to a group of artists whose work is characterized by bright colors, bold forms, lavish surfaces (often enhanced with gold and silver), the frequent use of a bird's-eye perspective, and a reliance on the painting styles and literary themes popular during the late Heian period (794-1185), when the Japanese court and nobility in Kyoto had been at their political and cultural height. <I>Rinpa</I> means 'rin school'; the term is derived from the last syllable of the name Korin in honorof Ogata Korin (1658-1716), one of the most influential artists of this school. The Rinpa ancestry is traced back to the painter and calligrapher Tawaraya Sotatsu (active 1600-1640) and Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637), best known for his calligraphy and pottery. Sotatsu, Koetsu, and Korin belonged to the <I>machishu</I> class of Kyoto society, wealthy, educated merchants who socialized with and catered to the Kyoto aristocracy, many of whom were impoverished. The interest in reviving early court culture that permeates the art of the Rinpa school is a reflection of the close cultural and personal ties between the <I>machishu</I> and the aristocracy.<P>Little is known about the life of Sotatsu. He began his career as a commercial painter and is known to have owned a fan shop called the Tawaraya. Although Tawaraya is the surname most commonly given to this artist, it is possible that his family name was either Kitagawa or Nonomura, names found among the lists of his followers. It has traditionally been accepted that around 1602 Sotatsu worked on the restoration of the 1164 <I>Lotus Sutra</I> dedicated by the Taira family and owned by the Itsukushima Shrine, the <I>Heiki nokyo</I>, now classified as a National Treasure. His work on this valuable illustrated scrollindicates that he was already considered an important artist. He was most active in the 1620s, and it is to this decade that most of his major paintings and collaborative calligraphic works are assigned.</P><P>This s
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