Born in Edo in Enkyou 4 (1747) as the son of a merchant. He studied Kanou school-style painting.
Later, he studied Ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) and other styles of painting, but his encounter with Gennai Hiraga and Naotake Odano awakened his interest in Western-style painting.
He adopted the techniques of Western painting and painted many Japanese landscapes featuring Fuji and other subjects using perilla oil.
In Tenmei 3 (1783), he succeeded in producing the first copperplate engraving in Japan.
In Tenmei 8 (1785), when he went to Nagasaki to study Western-style painting, he enjoyed playing billiards, as it is called today, as described in "Journal of a Tour to the West (Saiyuu Nikki)" a travel diary to Nagasaki.
In addition, Koukan was also an accomplished philosopher and social thinker, with a background in astronomy and geography.
No comments:
Post a Comment