Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) Mid to late 19th century
£7,000 - £10,000
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Kakejiku, in ink, colour and silver on silk, depicting Yamauba carrying a basket brimming over with kaki fruit and grapes under one arm and Kintaro in the other, the latter teasing a monkey cavorting at their feet, with a trailing vine; signed Seisei Kyosai with seal Kyosai; with wood storage box. 79½cm x 30½cm (31¼in x 12in). (2).
Footnotes
山姥図 河鍋暁斎 一幅 絹本着色 19世紀中期-後期
Yamauba was originally a female flesh-eating ogre who lived deep in the mountains, but during the Edo period, she was transformed into the mother or wet-nurse of the strong boy Kintaro, who grew up to be the warrior hero Sakata Kinoki, one of the four great retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu. In theatrical versions Yamauba appears as a wild old woman with long hair and ragged clothers who dances opposite the infant Kintaro, in the colour prints of Utamaro, she is further transformed into a voluptuous, though still young, wild mother. The portrayal of the protaganist here, is by contrast, a younger woman with hard features, unkempt hair, bare feet and a mugwort cloak that drapes loosely around her.
Another painting by Kyosai featuring a similarly executed composition of a wild menagerie between Yamauba, Kintaro, a wild monkey and a white bear cub is illustrated by Timothy Clark, Demon of Painting, The Art of Kawanabe Kyosai, p.105, no.65, London 1993.
