A fisherman finds harmony in the waves, a tiny vessel dwarfed by mountains on this ink painting by Irie Shikai. Ink on paper in a silk border with faux ivory rollers enclosed in an old kiri-wood storage box. It is 45.6 x 197 cm. There is toning to the paper typical of age with some wrinkles and scattered light stains.
Irie Shikai was born in Fukuoka prefecture in 1862, the son of an upper-level samurai retainer. He studied Nanga and Chinese style painting under Yoshitsugu Haizan and Daiju Ekizan among others. Eschewing the contemporary trend to exhibit and paint for the major National Juried exhibitions, he remained outside the mainstream. For more on this artist see Literati Modern, Bunjinga from late Edo to 20th century Japan, Honolulu, 2008.
