X
MOV File
Online Collections

Kishi Renzan

Japanese, 1805-1859


Details
Names

Kishi Renzan

岸連山

岸徳

Gan Toku

Occupation or Type

painter

Bio

Kishi Renzan 岸連山, also known as Gan Toku 岸徳, was a leading painter of the Kishi School in Kyoto after the death of his teather and adoptive father, Gan Ku. In 1823, he entered servise with the Arisugawa-no-miya 有栖川宮house, a cadet branch of the Imperial Family. His early paintings were somewhat decorative, but in his later years his style grew closer to the naturalism of the Shijô school. His pupils include Kishi Chikudô Koseno Shôseki 岸竹堂,巨勢小石. His original family name was Aoki 青木; his personal name was 昌徳. His art names included 士道,士進。Source: Kotobank.jp online; in turn taken from 「講談社 日本人名大辞典」, 2009. Accessed and translated by M. Graybill, 5/1/2013.

ja.wikipedia.org/ Studied painting with Gan Ku and Gan Ryô 岸良 (1798-1852).

MG: Note that Gan Ku's own son, Gan Tai 岸岱 (1782-1865) was Renzan's much older contemporary. Per ja.wikipedi.org on Gan Tai, the story is that he had little natural talent and so was strictly trained by his father. In 1808, Gan Tai was appointed Chikuzen no 筑前介 (a government post with a stipend, presumably). In 1809, he accompanied his father to Kanazawa to do wall paintings in the castle. In 1844, on behalf of Prince Arisugawa he made a pilgrimage to Konpira Shrine, and during the next 2 monmths he complete several paintings in the Oku no shoin. in 1853 he was conferred with the title 筑前守. During the Ansei era (1854-60), he worked with 3 other painters of the Kishi School (his third son, Gan Sei 岸誠, 1827-1867; Renzan; and Kishi Chikudô 岸竹堂 (1826-1897), a samurai of HIkone who studied with the Kishis) to paint several rooms in the newly constructed imperial palace. After the death of Gan Ku and Goshun, Gan Tai flourished in Kyoto. He appears in 'Heian jinbutsu shi' 『平安人物誌』(A Who's Who of Heian) from 1813 to 1852, an extraordinarily long time. He painted in the style of his father, Gan Ku (especially tigers); in the softer, more harmonious Shijô style; and traditonal yamato-e with mineral pigments on gold ground. His paintings at Kompira are clearly an homage to Ito Jakuchû's paintings (at Kompira) done 80 years earlier. His pupils include his eldest son Gan Kei 岸慶, 1811-1848), his second son Gan Rei 岸礼 (1816-1883), and his yougest son Gan Sei (1827-1867), and others. Source: ja.wikipedia.org/岸岱. Accessed 5/1/2013, transl by M. Graybill.

Gender

Male

Related Artworks
Media
IMLS logoNEA logoNEH logo

The Portland Art Museum’s Online Collections site is brought to you thanks to support provided by the State of Oregon through its second Culture, History, Arts, Movies, and Preservation funding program and generous awards from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.