Sotatsu

S?tatsu is a beautifully designed volume celebrating the influential early seventeenth-century Japanese painter Tawaraya S?tatsu. This book, the first Western survey of this important artist, accompanies the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery exhibition of the same name. Tawaraya S?tatsu was a commoner who introduced traditional Japanese themes and subjects, formerly the sole purview of the aristocracy, to broader audiences. He painted these nationalistic images using a bold, expressive new design style. This characteristic style was further developed and enhanced when he founded the historic Rinpa school with calligrapher Hon'ami K?etsu; Rinpa works are marked by dramatic, stylized renderings of traditional Japanese themes. Essays by leading scholars from the United States and Japan focus on S?tatsu’s well-known works; his collaboration with K?etsu; his varied roles as shopkeeper, compiler, and court painter; and his influence over other artists, including Ogata K?rin, Ogata Kenzan, Sakai H?itsu, and Suzuki Kiitsu. The book also examines Freer Gallery of Art founder Charles Lang Freer’s role in introducing S?tatsu and K?etsu to the Western world. S?tatsu is a must-have book