2-732-414 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ivy Lane, 1700s. Infrequently Japanese painters chose a single byøbu instead of the normal format of paired six-fold screens. These works represent commissions executed for special occasions and specific interior settings. Single byøbu are often smaller than their paired counterparts because they act as furniture in restricted spaces; oftentimes they were used to shield tea utensils or passageways from view. To date, three single, six-fold screens by or attributed to Roshu on the subject of the Ivy Lane are known. All are modest in scale, yet compelling. Here, a century before the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, we see a pictorial construct and rich, scintillating palette that anticipate the work of Paul Gauguin.