Two fold screen with weezel by Shunrei OYA

Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold wash on silk. Mounted on silk brocade on lacquered wood panels with metal fittings. The scene depicts a small weasel darting through dense, golden wheat fields, their movement suggested through layered washes of ochre and green.

Oya Shunrei (1892–1967) was born in present-day Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, and became a prominent painter associated with the Nihon-ga tradition. At nineteen he moved to Kyoto, where he studied under Miki Suizan (1883–1957) and later with Takeuchi Seiho (1864–1942), one of the leading exponents of modern Nihon-ga. Shunrei was a regular participant in the Teiten (Imperial Art Exhibition) during the Taisho and early Showa periods.

This work exemplifies the cross-cultural dialogue between Japanese art and European modernism. Post-Impressionist artists such as Vincent van Gogh drew inspiration from Japanese ukiyo-e prints, adopting their flattened perspective and bold color harmonies. In turn, Japanese painters like Shunrei absorbed elements of Impressionism and PostImpressionism into Nihon-ga. Here, the vast expanse of the wheat field recalls Van Gogh’s celebrated series of Wheat Fields. As in those works, the figure - a weasel in Shunrei’s case - anchors the composition yet is visually diminished by the overwhelming presence of nature. The result is a poetic meditation on the relationship between life’s fleeting motion and the enduring cycles of the natural world.

Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Few minor stains and minor wear to the frame as is to be expected.