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Set of Two Paintings – Landscapes in Ink

Kakemono, unique work, 203 x 61 cm
Product number: 6479

Sold – no longer available

This piece was handmade by Kawai Gyokudō and was a one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.

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Details about the sold piece

  • Height 203 cm
  • Width 61 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Paper
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
Signature / Stamp:
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No longer available

Description

Two ink paintings that complement one another like two stanzas of a poem: one hanging scroll shows a lone traveler on a narrow path beneath towering, mist-shrouded mountain walls, accompanied by a flock of birds vanishing into the depths of the gorge. The second presents a majestic mountain landscape with soaring peaks, a still body of water, and a small hut beneath pines on a rocky outcrop, from which a waterfall plunges into the depths. Both works are united by masterful command of ink technique - the interplay of dense and glazing tonal values, of firm contours and atmospheric dissolution.

The depictions follow the tradition of East Asian landscape painting (Sansuiga), in which mountains, water, and the human figure merge into a contemplative unity. Both paintings bear the signature and seal of Kawai Gyokudō, one of the most outstanding landscape painters of modern Japanese art.

Painted on paper, with jikusaki made of bone and mounted in a finely patterned brocade border, this pair of hand-painted unique works unfolds a remarkable presence and is a significant collector's item.

Frequently asked

No – as a one-of-a-kind piece it exists in a single example only.
We would be glad to look for one. Get in touch with the details of the object you are looking for and we will see what we can do.
Because the two pieces of information speak about different things: the period designation describes the object – support, colors, condition – while the signature reflects which name appears on the painting. In most cases there is no attempt at deception behind this, but rather Japanese painting training: copying from workshop models was the curriculum for centuries, an utsushi is regarded as a bow to the teacher, workshops signed with the master's name, and artist names were passed down within a school. Such a hanging scroll is therefore not a forgery, but a hand-painted one-of-a-kind that continues the formal language of its school – just not the work of the famous name, and priced accordingly. We explain this in detail in the guide Why does a kakemono often bear the signature of an artist long deceased?.