The Precious Flowers of the Mysterious Garden.
Picquier| N° d'inventaire | 23177 |
| Format | 22 x 34 |
| Détails | 91 p., 72 p., B/W ill., 2 vol. in publisher's hardcover. |
| Publication | Arles, 2015 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782809710427 |
Created at the end of the eighteenth century by Itô Jakuchû, one of the "Eccentrics of Kyoto," this collection of paintings uses an original technique of particularly powerful expressiveness. Known as taku hanga, it is inspired by the Chinese practice of stamping, which allows for the copying of inscriptions engraved on steles. Against a deep black background, flowers, plants, insects, and animals stand out in white, following the lines of a drawing of striking energy and intensity. These negative images, with the evocative title of Precious Flowers of the Mysterious Garden, were not intended for the general public but reserved for a small circle of scholarly friends, hence the rarity of copies still preserved in Japanese or Western collections. Their singular precision, their power of suggestion, against this black with its silky, almost magnetic depth, if they draw on a centuries-old tradition, captivate by their extraordinary modernity. [publisher source]
Created at the end of the eighteenth century by Itô Jakuchû, one of the "Eccentrics of Kyoto," this collection of paintings uses an original technique of particularly powerful expressiveness. Known as taku hanga, it is inspired by the Chinese practice of stamping, which allows for the copying of inscriptions engraved on steles. Against a deep black background, flowers, plants, insects, and animals stand out in white, following the lines of a drawing of striking energy and intensity. These negative images, with the evocative title of Precious Flowers of the Mysterious Garden, were not intended for the general public but reserved for a small circle of scholarly friends, hence the rarity of copies still preserved in Japanese or Western collections. Their singular precision, their power of suggestion, against this black with its silky, almost magnetic depth, if they draw on a centuries-old tradition, captivate by their extraordinary modernity. [publisher source]