Chusaku Oyama - Carp at Play (遊鯉)
Chusaku Oyama - Carp at Play (遊鯉)
| Artist | Chusaku Oyama (Japan, 1922-2009) |
| Year | 1922-2009 |
| Materials | Mineral pigments on paper |
| Size | (H)41.0cm, (W)53.0cm |
| Framed size | (H)60.5cm, (W)72.6cm, (D)7.0cm |
| Rarity | Unique |
| Medium | Painting |
| Signature | Gold signature and red artist seal at lower right of the painting. Paper label titled, signed and sealed by the artist on the backing board. |
| Condition and Authenticity | Painting generally good. Frame paint finely crazed overall, with a scratch lower left, stain upper center and light soiling throughout. This artwork does not include a certificate of authenticity. |
| Provenance | Auction in Japan |
| Frame | Framed in a silver-grey painted wood frame with a darker outer moulding and glazing. Outer wooden storage box and yellow cloth cover included. |
A single golden carp glides through deep green water, its body catching the light as it turns toward the viewer. Chusaku Oyama removed every anchoring element from the composition: no bank, no reeds, no horizon, only the shifting surface of the water and the fish itself. The mineral pigments are layered so that the ground reads simultaneously as depth and as reflection, while the scales are built up in fine, patient strokes that shade from pale ochre into burnished gold. Carp were the subject Oyama returned to throughout his career and the motif for which collectors know him best. Recipient of the Order of Culture in 2006 and a member of the Japan Art Academy, he treated the fish not as a zoological study but as a vehicle for stillness. Authentication evidence is unusually clear on this piece: the gold-brushed signature and vermilion seal sit in the lower right corner of the painted surface, and the original paper label bearing the title, the artist's signature and his seal remains intact on the upper right of the backing board, alongside the label of the Tokyo framing workshop that mounted the work.