Maruyama Okyo

A painter from the mid-Edo period. Born as the second son of Maruyama Tozaemon to a farming family in Anoo Village, Kuwata County, Tanba Province (now Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture). His childhood name was Iwajiro, and later he was given the name Tei and his pen name was Nakakin. He was known by names such as Senrei and Natsuun, but in 1766 (Meiwa 3), at the age of 34, he changed his given name to Okyo, his pen name to Nakasen, and his pen name to Sensai, and thereafter consistently used the given name Okyo. He loved painting from an early age, and went to Kyoto at an early age to study painting under Ishida Yutei (1721-86), a painter of the Tsurusawa school who was in the footsteps of Kano Tan'yu. Yutei's decorative style was a mix of the Kano and Tosa schools, and he became an imperial court painter and was awarded the rank of Hogen. However, Okyo was not satisfied with his conservative style, and gradually leaned towards a more realistic style based on sketching. It is thought that his encounter with Western painting, which he learned about while creating "spectacles paintings" for a living, prompted Okyo to make the switch.

Megane-e refers to pictures used in the peephole machines imported at the time, which were set in a device that combined a reflecting mirror with a convex lens, and were looked at through. The painting method was based on the 18th century Dutch copperplate engraving technique, and used scientific perspective and realistic shading, which was a particularly strong stimulus for Okyo, who had studied traditional painting techniques. He was also greatly influenced by the precise depictions of Chinese Song and Yuan court paintings and the latest realistic painting techniques of Qing Dynasty painter Shen Nanpin. However, he did not simply transfer the thorough realistic techniques of Western painting or the dense coloring methods of the Nanpin style to his Japanese paintings. Instead, he pursued a more plain and gentle feel for his paintings, while taking an interest in the realistic spatial expression of each painting and the detailed painting of the motif as the important basis for his own sketches, and as a result, he perfected his own unique "tsuketate" brushwork. His style of painting was supported by Yujo, the head priest of Enman-in Temple in Otsu, and he received many commissions for his works in his 30s, and under his patronage, Okyo was able to grow significantly as a painter. Yujo died in 1773 (An'ei 2), but Okyo reached his peak during the An'ei era (1772-1781), when he was in his 40s, and produced many works in his own unique style. His representative works include "Bamboo in the Rain and Wind" (Enkoji Temple, Kyoto, Important Cultural Property), "Wisteria Screen" (Nezu Museum, Tokyo, Important Cultural Property), "Pine Trees in the Snow" (National Treasure), and "Flowers of the Four Seasons" (Fukutsuan). Through these works, we can see that Okyo had studied and built up an intellectually balanced relationship between the realistic expression of each motif and the space behind them that envelops them, which he had been doing for many years.

Although Okyo's disciples, including his son Ozui (1766-1829), Nagasawa Rosetsu, Matsumura Gekkei (Goshun), Yoshimura Takayoshi (1769-1836), Komai Genki (1747-97), and Yamaguchi Soken (1759-1818), had already gathered under him and formed a school, the close-knit style of his master's paintings was not necessarily inherited in a sufficient form. However, this school, known as the Maruyama school, maintained its position as an important presence in art history for a long time until the Meiji period, and is highly regarded for having become the foundation for the development of modern Japanese painting.

[Reiko Tamamushi]

"Sasaki Johei, Okyo Sketch Collection" (1981, Kodansha)" ▽ "Sasaki Johei (ed.), The World of Flower and Bird Paintings 6, Flowers and Birds of the Mid-Edo Period 1 (Kyoto School Designs)" (1981, Gakken)" ▽ "Yamakawa Takeshi, Complete Collection of Japanese Art Paintings 22, Okyo/Goshun" (1977, Shueisha)" ▽ "Kono Motoaki, Treasures of Japanese Art 24, Taiga/Okyo" (1981, Shogakukan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の画家。丹波(たんば)国桑田郡穴太(あのお)村（京都府亀岡(かめおか)市）の農家に、円山藤左衛門の次男として生まれる。幼名を岩次郎、のち名をてい、字(あざな)を仲均といった。仙嶺(せんれい)・夏雲などと号したが、1766年（明和3）34歳のとき、諱(いみな)を応挙、字を仲選、号を遷斎と改め、以後一貫して応挙の諱を用いた。幼いころより絵を好み、早くから京都に出て狩野探幽(かのうたんゆう)の流れをくむ鶴沢(つるさわ)派の画家石田幽汀(いしだゆうてい)（1721―86）に入門し、本格的に絵を学んだ。幽汀は狩野派に土佐派を折衷した装飾的な画風をみせ、禁裏絵師となって法眼(ほうげん)に叙せられている。しかし応挙はその保守的な性格に飽き足らず、しだいに写生を基本とした写実的な画風に傾いていった。生活のための「眼鏡絵(めがねえ)」の制作で知った西洋画との出合いが、応挙の転換を促したと考えられる。

　眼鏡絵とは、当時舶載されていた覗機械(のぞきからくり)に使用される絵のことで、反射鏡に凸レンズを組み合わせた装置にセットして覗(のぞ)かれる。その画法は、18世紀オランダ銅版画の画法に基づき、科学的な透視遠近法と写実的な陰影法を用いたものであったため、従来の画法を学んできた応挙には、ひときわ強烈な刺激であった。さらに、中国の宋元(そうげん)院体画の精緻(せいち)な描写や、清(しん)朝画家沈南蘋(しんなんぴん)の最新の写生画法にも多くの影響を受けたが、西洋画の徹底した写実技法や南蘋様式の濃密な彩色法をそのまま日本画の画面に転用せず、それぞれの絵画のもつ現実的な空間表現への関心や、モチーフの細密画法を自らの写生の重要な基本としながらも、より平明で穏やかな感覚の画面を追求した結果、独自の「付立(つけた)て」筆法を完成させた。こうした彼の画風は、大津の円満院(えんまんいん)門主祐常(ゆうじょう)の支持を受けるところとなり、30歳代には多くの作品の注文を受け、その庇護(ひご)のもとに画家として大きな成長を遂げることができた。祐常は1773年（安永2）に没したが、応挙は40歳代に入った安永(あんえい)年間（1772～81）にもっとも充実した時代を迎え、以降独自の様式による作品を数多く制作している。代表作には『雨竹風竹図屏風(うちくふうちくずびょうぶ)』（京都・円光寺・重文）、『藤花図屏風』（東京・根津美術館・重文）、『雪松図』（国宝）、『四季草花図』（袋中庵）などがあり、これらの作品を通しても、個々のモチーフの写生的表現と、それらを包み込む背後の空間との知的な均衡関係を、応挙が長年にわたって研究し、築き上げてきたことが理解される。

　応挙のもとにはすでに息子の応瑞(おうずい)（1766―1829）や長沢蘆雪(ながさわろせつ)、松村月渓(げっけい)（呉春(ごしゅん)）、吉村孝敬(こうけい)（1769―1836）、駒井源琦(こまいげんき)（1747―97）、山口素絢(そけん)（1759―1818）らの弟子が集まり一派を形成していたが、師のこうした緊密な画面はかならずしも十分な形では継承されなかった。だがその画派は円山派として、明治までの長い間、美術史上の重要な存在としてその地位を保ち、近代日本画の展開の基盤となった点で大いに注目評価されている。

［玉蟲玲子］

『佐々木丞平著『応挙写生画集』（1981・講談社）』▽『佐々木丞平編『花鳥画の世界6　江戸中期の花鳥1（京派の意匠）』（1981・学習研究社）』▽『山川武著『日本美術絵画全集22　応挙／呉春』（1977・集英社）』▽『河野元昭著『名宝日本の美術24　大雅・応挙』（1981・小学館）』

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