was a Japanese literati (''bunjin'') painter and poet.

Biography

He was the son of the poet Tani Rokkoku (1729–1809). As his family were retainers of the Tayasu Family of descendants of the eighth Tokugawa ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'', Bunchō inherited samurai status and received a stipend to meet the responsibilities this entailed. In his youth he began studying the painting techniques of the

Kanō school The is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji era, Meiji period which began in 1868, by which time the school had divided i ...

under Katō Bunrei (1706–82). After Bunrei's death, Bunchō worked with masters of other schools, such as the literati painter Kitayama Kangen (1767–1801), and developed a wide stylistic range that included many Chinese, Japanese and European idioms. He rose to particular prominence as the retainer of Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759–1829), genetic son of the Tayasu who was adopted into the Matsudaira family before becoming chief senior councilor (''rōjū shuza''; 老中首座) of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

in 1787. Bunchō is best known for his idealized landscapes in the literati style (Nanga or Bunjinga).

Style

Unlike most '' bunjinga'' painters of his time, however, Bunchō was an extremely eclectic artist, painting idealized Chinese landscapes, actual Japanese sites, and poetically inspired traditional scenery. He also painted portraits of his contemporaries (such as Ono Ranzan and Kimura Kenkadō), as well as imagined images of such Chinese literati heroes as

Su Shi Su Shi ( zh, t=, s=苏轼, p=Sū Shì; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese poet, essayist, calligrapher, painter, scholar-official, literatus, artist, pharmacologist, and gastronome wh ...

and

Tao Yuanming Tao Yuanming (365–427), also known as Tao Qian, courtesy name Yuanliang (元亮), was a Chinese poet and politician. He was one of the best-known poets who lived during the Six Dynasties period. Tao Yuanming spent much of his life in reclusi ...

. Since travel outside Japan was forbidden under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, Bunchō was unable to study in China; he spent many years traveling around Japan, studying Chinese, Japanese, and Western art (洋画, ''Yōga'').

Watanabe Kazan was a Japanese painter, scholar and statesman member of the samurai class. Biography He was born Watanabe Sadayasu in Edo (now Tokyo) to a poor samurai family, and his artistic talent was developed from an early age. His family served the ...

Sakai Hōitsu was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He is known for having revived the style and popularity of Ogata Kōrin, and for having created a number of reproductions of Kōrin's work. Biography Sakai Hōitsu was born on 1 August 1761 in ...

and Takaku Aigai were among his disciples. One of his pupils was the renowned painter Okuhara Seiko.

References

External links

Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Tani Bunchō (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tani, Buncho Japanese painters 1763 births 1840 deaths Artists from Tokyo Metropolis