Untitled painting album of fish and shellfish 無題の魚介類画譜

FSC-GR-780.209

Commentary by Suzuki Jun

Posted June 2, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

This untitled painting album of fish and shellfish contains thirty-four images of aquatic life, including fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Every half-folio depicts a single creature except for the first two compositions of a bonito and a squid, which are positioned across the double-page opening. The meticulously executed illustrations employ more sumptuous techniques such as the application of white mica on the bellies of the fish. Each image has been mounted on the folios in this orihon-format work.

Pictorial precedents in the portrayal of marine life include Gyokai ryakuga shiki by Kuwagata Keisai (Kitao Masayoshi; see Tatsu no miyatsuko FSC-GR-780.338). However, this bookcontains species of fish only typically included in illustrated catalogues of medical phytology. The detail in the rendition of the subjects, as if drawn from life, suggests that a natural historian or someone involved in this field was most likely behind the production of the work. Certain illustrations such as the goldfish are so realistically rendered that they appear almost alive (p. 28 on the website); others such as the flounder are shown from both sides, here with its white lower side and blackish-brown upper side (p. 7 on the website). Even though the final image of the horned turban is signed Hokkei (北渓) and has a vermillion Hokkei seal, the attribution to Totoya Hokkei is tenuous. In fact, the representation of texture, the varied palette, and a style reminiscent of modern watercolor painting indicates a production date from the Meiji period onward, and not during Toyota Hokkei’s lifetime.

署名　無題の魚介類画譜

執筆者鈴木淳

魚介類の本草図譜。成立は明治時代か。着彩。台紙貼りの折帖で一八面。三四図。半面ごとに魚介類を描くが、冒頭の鰹と烏賊は見開き図。鰹からサザエまでの図譜。魚の腹部などに白雲母をまく。最終の栄螺の図に「北渓」の署名に朱文方印「北渓」の落款があるが、魚屋北渓筆とするのは疑問である｡鰹、烏賊、鯛、鮃などの魚類、蝦類、貝類を描く。魚介類の画譜としては、鍬形蕙斎の『魚介略画式』などの先例があるが、本画譜は、本草図譜などにしか見られないような種類の魚を含むうえに、正写しに徹した克明な図様であることから、本草学（博物学）者もしくはその周辺で成立した写生図譜である可能性が高いように思われる。魚図の中には白魚、泥鰌、金魚など、水中で泳ぐ様を捕らえた図や、ヒラメのように黒褐色の上面と白の下面の両方を図示した例もある。質感の捉え方や多彩な色遣い、それに近代の水彩絵のような筆遣いから推して、明治時代以降の成立のように判断される。

Untitled painting manual of fish and shellfish