Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)

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A fine original Kyosai painting, full colour on silk, 47.5 x 16.5 in; 121 x 42 cms. Shows Emma, the King of Hell, walking with and holding an umbrella above a courtesan while a ghoulish oni looks on wearing a costume of gunnera leaves. Emma-O is the Japanese Buddhist version of Yama, the Hindu god of death. It was he who assigned people after death to one of the states of reincarnation. He is shown with the headdress, robes and holding the staff of a Chinese judge. The preparatory drawing for this painting is illustrated in Kawanabe Kyosai, In Honour of 100TH Anniversary of His Death, published by Ukiyoe Ota Kinen Bijutsuken, 1989, no. 61, p. 60. 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. Signed Seisai Kyosai with Kyosai seal.

Status: Available