Watanabe Shōtei 渡辺省亭 (1851–1918)
New Year with Small Pines and a Pair of Cranes 正月小松と雙鶴
Item number: T-3376Size: H 75.6" x W 20.7" (192 x 52.6 cm)
Age: circa 1910
Hanging scroll, ink, color and lacquer on silk
Inscription: Shōtei 省亭
Seal: Shōtei 省亭
Box top: »New Year: Small Pines and Crane Pair, Painted by Shōtei.« 正月小松と雙鶴 省亭画
Box end: »Pair of cranes by the brush of Shōtei, (First) Month.« 雙鶴省亭筆［正］月
Crane paintings have a venerable tradition in Japan and there are numerous well-known works on the theme.1 In Japan the combination of cranes with young pines and the rising sun became a symbol for the New Year and displaying such images at homes and institutions became a favorite way to welcome the new season.2
New Year was clearly also the intended message in this painting, judging from the title that the artist wrote on the tomobako box. Yet, in the hands of Shōtei, one of the greatest animal painters of the Meiji period, the painting becomes much more than a New Year’s symbol. For one thing, Shōtei had a clear interest in portraying animals with real personalities. The eye of the upper bird, painted with ink and black lacquer, is particularly life-like and captivating. Through the poses of the birds, we also get a sense of cranes with different personalities: one protecting, the other cowering in the shadow of the larger bird.
Further, the combination of rough brush strokes at the tail feathers with fine brush strokes and details at the heads and beaks creates interest and vitality to the scene.
Shōtei was one of the most colorful characters in the art scene of the Meiji period and became a real celebrity of his time.3 He was the first Japanese student to study in Europe and learned, in 1878 – 81, the Western painting methods of his time. He won prizes in numerous Western exhibitions—such as in Paris in 1878, Amsterdam in 1883, and Chicago in 1893—and became one of the best-known Japanese artists in the West. He also published numerous books on paintings, collaborated on cloisonné designs, and courted controversy, for example, by daring to publish a nude study in the journal Kokumin no tomo in 1889.
The level to which he was esteemed by others—and himself—can be gauged by the striking ichimonji mounting of this hanging scroll: the design is his own and displays a woven pattern with Shōtei’s own seals, highlighted in silver and gold threads. Shōtei was clearly an artist not afraid to go against the conventions nor afraid of standing out in crowd. And as we see in this superb bird study, he had ample reasons to be justifiably proud of his skills.
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