Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)

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A fine original Kyosai painting, full colour on paper, 51.5 x 21.5 in; 131 x 54.5 cms. Shows Otafuku being carried across a river on the back of a blue oni. They look down with consternation at a red oni who has fallen into the water spilling his basket of mushrooms. The face of the blue oni takes on the appearance of Hyottoko, the male pairing of Otafuku. Known as the Goddess of Mirth, Otafuku is often shown with the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. There are various theories as to her origins and her face, in the form of a mask, has become ubiquitous. Kyosai was a draughtsman of great dexterity with a wild, often bizarre, imagination. Loved sake, sometimes painting under its influence. At an early stage studied under Kuniyoshi, then Maemura Towa and later Kano Chinshin before becoming an independent painter at 27. Adept at highly finished paintings but also produced a large corpus of spontaneous paintings.

In very good condition. Provenance: The inside of the lid on the box is signed and sealed by Mano Gyotei (Kyotei) who was Kyosai’s pupil and guarantees the painting. Sealed Kyosai.

Status: Available