Handwritten Letter

Soga ShohakuWW-1750-141984

1750·Two hanging scrolls, ink on paper·121.3 × 54.5 cm (47 13/16 × 21 1/2 in.)

<p>Japanese painter Soga Shōhaku was and remains well-known for his artwork, but his personal life is largely mysterious. These scrolls feature the only surviving letters by the artist, and one includes his only known self-portrait. The artist is corresponding with a friend, Shinsuke Konishi (1738–1807). In the first letter, written on New Year’s Day, Shōhaku asks Shinsuke for sake and art supplies. In the second, he thanks his friend for the gift with a poem and a self-portrait. The drawing shows Shōhaku drinking sake next to a large barrel of it, topped with a plum branch for the New Year.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1750
Medium: Two hanging scrolls, ink on paper
Dimensions: 121.3 × 54.5 cm (47 13/16 × 21 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Soga Shohaku

Artist

Soga Shohaku

Painting

Soga Shōhaku was a Japanese painter of the Edo period. Shōhaku distinguished himself from his contemporaries by preferring the brush style of the Muromachi period, an aesthetic that was already passé 150 years before his birth. His monstrous depictions of prominent figures were extremely unusual compared to other painters of his time.

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