In the style of Himeshima Chikugai (1840-1928)

Description:

Japan, dated 1917
115 x 36,5 cm (147 x 55,2 cm R.)
Bamboo. India ink on silk, framed under glass. Inscription and signature of the artist: "In the year 30, in the dingsi year (1917) on a spring day, the old man of 78 years, Chikugai. "Three seals of the artist: "Seal of Himeshima Jun", 'Painting poems and reading pictures', etc.
Klaus Nierhoff Collection (1926 - 2011), acquired from Paul Brandt Amsterdam, 13.12.1965, lot 710
Himeshima Chikugai, personal name Jun, was an important Nanga painter in Osaka. Originally a feudal official in Fukuoka, he moved to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration and devoted himself to painting. He later moved to Osaka, where he became an important figure among the Nanga painters. He was particularly known for his depiction of bamboo. There appears to be an error in the dating of the signature. The Dingsi year (1917), in which he was 78 years old, was year 6 of the Taisho period (1912-1926), not year 30 of the Meiji period (1897). The authenticity of the painting therefore seems questionable.