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“The Four Gentlemen”
Yamamoto Baiitsu
Click the image to enlarge.
- Artist Name
- Yamamoto Baiitsu
- Title
- “The Four Gentlemen”
- Dimensions
- painting：109.1×34.8㎝
full length：183.0×40.3㎝ - Medium
- Ink on paper
- Year
- 1833
- Notes
- Description
- This work by Yamamoto Baiitsu depicts a Taihu rock placed on an earthen bank in the foreground, beside which bamboo, plum, and orchid rise gracefully.
The chrysanthemum, plum, bamboo, and orchid—represented here—are collectively known as the “Four Gentlemen.” These plants, long regarded as symbols of noble character and refined virtue, have been among the principal subjects of ink painting since antiquity. The inscription on the painting confirms that it was executed in Tenpō 3 (1825).
Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783–1856) was a literati painter of the late Edo period. Born as the son of a sculptor in Owari Province, his personal name was Ryō; his formal name was Chikaryō; his courtesy name was Meikyō; and his common name was Uneyoshi. He used several art names, including Shun’en, Chikugen, and Baiketsu, later adopting Baiitsu. Other sobriquets included Baika Dōjin, Gyokuzen, Tendō Gaishi, Aien, Yūchikusōkyo, and Hakubaikyo.
He is said to have first studied painting under Yamada Kyūjō, though details are unclear, and later under Yamamoto Rantei; he is also believed to have studied with Zhang Yueqiao. Subsequently, he came under the patronage of the wealthy merchant and collector Kamiya Tenyū, through whom he copied and studied old master paintings together with Nakabayashi Chikutō. At the age of twenty-two, he went to Kyoto with Chikutō, later traveling widely before returning to Nagoya. In 1854 (Ansei 1), he was appointed an official painter to the Owari domain and granted samurai status.
Baiitsu demonstrated exceptional skill in both landscape and bird-and-flower painting, and was particularly renowned for his brilliantly colored floral compositions. Alongside Chikutō, he stands as a central figure of the Owari school of literati painting centered in Nagoya.