Page 28 - Designing_Nature_The_Rinpa_Aesthetic_in_Japanese_Art Metropolitan Museum PUB

according to artist or chronology but by pictorial theme.)
Kōrin is known to have created designs for lacquerware and
to have collaborated with his younger brother Kenzan on

decorated ceramics, but Kenzan was the one who trans-
formed ceramics into a dynamic medium for painting
and calligraphy. like his older brother, Kenzan grew up
steeped in the world of poetry and tea ceremony. He stud-

ied painting under Kano Yasunobu (1613 – 1685), who
seems, however, to have had little or no lasting impact on
his pupil. More important, perhaps, was Kenzan’s asso-
ciation with nonomura ninsei (active ca. 1646 – 94), a

brilliant potter who transformed vessels into veritable
Fig. 4 Workshop of nonomura ninsei. incense burner with flowers of the four
seasons, edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century. stoneware with overglaze canvases with his contin uous, wraparound landscape
3
1
1
enamels, 6 /4 ∞ 7 /4 ∞ 7 /4 in. (17.1 ∞ 18.4 ∞ 18.4 cm). the Metropolitan designs. Perpetuated by followers, ninsei’s style eventu-
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Museum of art, new york; h. o. havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. h. o.
havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.668) ally became a distinctive and readily identifiable mode
of ceramic art (fig. 4).
voluptuously sinuous, graphic form. Although the painting The artless, rugged energy of Kenzan’s paintings
was not included in Hōitsu’s 1815 exhibition, the iconic work on ceramics and paper effectively complements his idio-
is now viewed as an encapsulation of Kōrin’s approach to syncratic, expressive calligraphy. The floral motifs he

rendering natural forms. This type of stylized wave motif, drew using underglaze cobalt blue and iron oxide over
for example, was revived by later generations of lacquer and white slip for a set of kawarake (disposable stoneware
textile designers as one of the “Kōrin patterns” (Kōrin moyō). dishes) possess a graphic power characteristic of his best
Even a contemporary ceramic artist such as nakamura works (cat. 81). “Kenzan,” as the artist styled himself

Takuo (b. 1945) can conjure up an entire Rinpa tradition in ever more exuberant signatures, in effect became a
by adding a Kōrin-style wave motif to a stoneware water brand name, as seen, for instance, on the kawarake dishes
jar (cat. 45). mentioned above, where he signed the edge of the exte-
rior rim in brusquely inscribed iron-oxide characters.

Ceramics as a Medium for p ainting Toward the end of his career, numerous workshop assis-
one of the underlying themes of this volume is that tants and followers (some of whom officially inherited
although the origins of the Rinpa aesthetic are in the the prized name but also many who did not) created
brush arts of painting and calligraphy, the style was readily Kenzan ware in imitation of the master. Since the Kenzan

transferred across other media, from woodblock-printed aesthetic originated as a rebuff to polished, professional designing nature
books to ceramics, lacquerware, and textiles. (This adapt- ceramic production, his style was also copied by many
ability is reflected in the catalogue, which is organized not amateur potters. 41

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