Ryushi Kawabata - Long Spring (長春図)

A serene Nihonga still-life by Ryushi Kawabata, painted in early summer of Showa 30 (1955) when the artist was at the height of his mastery. The title 'Choshun' is the classical Japanese name for the ornamental rose introduced from China, prized for its remarkably long blooming season. Here the artist captures a single fully-opened white rose, a tight crimson bud, and abundant verdant foliage emerging from a bold red and white sometsuke-style vase, all rendered in mineral pigments on silk. The composition unites the decorative refinement of classical Nihonga with the romantic, dynamic sensibility that defined Kawabata's mature work. As founder of the Seiryusha school and a recipient of the Order of Cultural Merit (1959), Kawabata was one of the leading Nihonga masters of the 20th century, and intimate scroll paintings such as this one — bearing both an in-painting signature with seal and an original artist-inscribed tomobako — represent the most reliably authenticated category of his work for collectors.

Artist: Ryushi Kawabata (Japan, 1885-1966)

Year: 1955

Medium: Painting

Materials: Color and mineral pigments on silk (Nihonga)

Classification: Unique

Size: (H)45.0cm, (W)57.0cm. Framed (mounted scroll): (H)154.5cm, (W)78.6cm.

Signature: Signed 'Ryushi' with red artist's seal at lower right of painting. Wooden box (tomobako) inscribed with title and signature by artist.