Discussion

Winter Tree Haiga

This week's painting subject is a haiga about winter trees. Before continuing, take a few minutes to review what haiga are by reading this unit about the combination of paintings with calligraphy.

The haiku I chose to go along with my winter tree painting is by Masaoka Shiki (1867 – 1902), one Japan's great haiku masters. 

Leafless Trees

Broadly speaking, all trees can be divided into two categories; evergreen and deciduous, meaning trees that shed their leaves annually. Most of the latter are broadleaf trees. Green leaves turning colors in the fall from the loss of green chlorophyl and eventually falling is familiar. The maple trees below illustrate the process.

Scientists say that the process helps protect the trees from the harsh winter cold, however at least one expert has a different view. One of the early Peanuts comic strips showed Lucy taking her younger brother Linus's education in hand and teaching him about the world. She told him that leaves don't fall off of trees. They jump off to get away from the squirrels.

There is not much to be said about leafless trees, but there are a lot of nice photos of them. Here are some for your enjoyment.

Artwork

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

After Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849), Hiroshige  was Japan's greatest ukiyo-e landscape artist. He produced several noteworthy series, the best known of which is Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō. Another noteworthy series is Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, coproduced with Keisai Eisen (1790 – 1848). Hiroshige painted 46 of the prints in that series which was published between 1835 and 1842. Both the Tōkaidō and the Kisokaidō (also known as the Nakasendo) were government maintained roads connecting Edo with the Emperor's capitol at Kyōto. The print by Hiroshige below titled Sampans on the Ohta River is the 32nd print in the series.

Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831 – 1889)

Kyōsai began his artistic career studying under ukiyo_e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 – 1861) and later studied in the Kanō school. Soon after, he went his own way, developing a reputation as a caricaturist. Works offensive to shōgunate authorities got him arrested several times. Works following the overthrow of shōgunate rule got him arrested by the Emperor's government. He was an equal opportunity offender. The quality of his artwork has led him to be regarded as Hokusai's (1760 – 1849) greatest successor, though he never studied under him. The print below, produced in the 1880s, is simply titled Crows.

Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915)

Kiyochika became involved in the revolution that overthrew the Tokugawa Shōgunate and restored the Emperor to power in 1867 as a retainer of a Daimyō serving the Shōgun. Afterward, he settled in Shizuoka Prefecture, the heartland of the Tokugawa clan, for several years before moving to the newly named Tōkyō (formerly Edo) and taking up art. He studied Western-style art and began to publish woodblock prints in the mid 1870s. He is best known for prints depicting scenes of the various wars Japan was engaged with. His winter scene below was published in 1887.

Takeuchi Seihō (1864 – 1942)

Seihō wanted to become an artist from an early age. He studied traditional painting with the Maruyama-Shijō school and won early success by winning awards in a national painting competition in 1882. Seihō attended the Paris Exposition of 1900, and toured Europe, studying Western art. On returning to Japan, Seihō formed his own unique style, combining traditional and Western artistic styles. His work became influential among other Japanese artists. His Three Crows painting was produced sometime in the 1890 thru early 1900 time period.