Mochizuki Gyokkei (1874-1938)

A striking pair of Meiji period six-panel folding screens by Mochizuki Gyokkei 望月玉渓 (1874-1938) showing a flock of cranes. Together the two screens disclose a gorgeous seven-meter-wide composition of interacting individuals, painted in ink and mineral colors on a glittering gold background.

It is a rare large-size example of Gyokkei's excellent skills in rendering cranes, which can also be seen at the famous Heian shrine in Kyōto, where he created the interior design for the garden's pavilion Shōbi-kan 尚美館 with the paintings of many cranes. This building was moved from the imperial palace to the shrine's grounds in Taishō 2 (1912) and Gyokkei was commissioned to recreate the wall design. However, compared to these paintings, the artist’s signature on the left screen mentions a completion of the work on a winter’s day in Meiji 39 (1906). So, the screen painting appears to be six years older than the door panel and sliding door paintings at the Heian shrine. Interesting is, that Gyokkei used in fact some of the cranes from the screens as model for his wall paintings, which show for example a crane that seems to be a direct copy of the right screen's running crane with spread wings. Unfortunately, the Shōbi-kan building and its impressive layout by Gyokkei is only occasionally open to the public.