Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch

Tsubaki Chinzan Japanese

Not on view

This pair of scrolls (with 1975.268.115) provides a unique insight into the studio process of a painter working in the later phase of the Nanga tradition. The scroll on the right is a shita-e, or preparatory sketch, for the completed work on the left. Tsubaki Chinzan constructed the composition using a collage method: the branches on the upper left, for example, appear to have been painted on a separate sheet, which the artist then pasted into the preliminary version. Chinzan then copied this composition onto the final scroll, using lighter brushstrokes and deleting all pentimenti. Unfortunately, Chinzan lost some of the verve of the study’s spiky draftsmanship when he made the transfer to the final work.

Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch, Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854), Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan

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Painting

Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch, Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854), Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan
Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch, Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854), Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan
Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch, Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854), Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan
Red and White Peach Blossoms, Preparatory Sketch, Tsubaki Chinzan (Japanese, 1801–1854), Hanging scroll; color on paper, Japan

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.