KAZUNORI ISHIBASHI (JAPANESE 1876-1928), PORTRAIT OF DR FREDERICK JOHN SMITH

KAZUNORI ISHIBASHI (JAPANESE 1876-1928) PORTRAIT OF DR FREDERICK JOHN SMITH Oil on canvas Signed (upper right) 115.5 x 85cm (45¼ x 33¼in.) Dr Frederick John Smith (1857-1919) was a physician, teacher and surgeon at the London Hospital (no longer extant). The portrait was commissioned by the hospital on his retirement to hang in the Atheneum of the Medical College there. The Smith family own a smaller, less refined version of this portrait which they commissioned the artist to paint after the original picture. Born in Shimane Prefecture, Kazunori Ishbashi was a Japanese master of the traditional style who studied under Katei Taki (1830-1901), President of the Imperial Court Artists. He later decided to study the European style of painting, enrolling as a student at The Royal Academy of Arts in 1905, where he studied under John Singer Sargent and went on to exhibit fourteen times. He also became a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. In France, he shared a studio with the sculptor Leonard Stanford Merrifield and exhibited at the Salon in Paris. Ishibashi developed a profitable network of contacts including Japanese statesmen, Sir Adrian Boult, and Sir Leonard Hill. His vast body of work faithfully employs the style, subject and mediums of both Meiji and European painting. The present commission from the London Hospital followed a project of thirty-seven decorative silk panels depicting the Seasons for the college dining room, rendered in the traditional Japanese style. Critics put his mastery of the two disciplines down to his commitment to preserving their integrity, with one writing that he was ‘winning laurels in the two spheres of Western portraiture and Japanese decorative art by his determination to keep them distinct, and in no way letting the influences of Western art methods undermine the stronghold of Japanese art.’ With regards to portraiture, Ishibashi ‘has merited high and deserving applause, showing a dexterity in his handling of color effects and a vigor of line, as well as a masterly delineation of character, that mark his work out from that of the common painter…’ (A. Finch, ‘Panels by Mr. Kazunri Ishibashi: An Artist of the Old Japanese School.’ The American Magazine of Art, July 1917, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 346-7). Further examples of Kazunori’s work can be found in the collections of the British Museum and The Shimane Art Museum which holds his much-celebrated Portrait of a Lady Reading Poetry. Condition Report: Due to the way the canvas is presented it is not possible to say for sure whether it has been lined, however the assumption is that is has been. If not it is likely that there are instead a number of patches verso, as there are a number of repaired tears recto. The first of these, which is visible in natural light, and approx. 7cm, is in the upper right corner just adjacent to the signature. Secondly there is a repaired tear to the left side along the upper edge (approx. 10cm) and this is also visible in a natural light. Further over-painting and possible repair is visible half-way down along the right stretcher edge. Stretcher marks are visible throughout, including two running horizontally through the sitter's chest. An uneven varnish is visible throughout, especially in a raking light. Craquelure throughout, together with some surface scratching and surface dirt. Further spots of retouching are also visible in a natural light. Rubbing and abrasions to the framing edges. Inspection under UV light reveal scattered retouching throughout together with an uneven, green cloudy varnish. Condition Report Disclaimer, KAZUNORI ISHIBASHI (JAPANESE 1876-1928), PORTRAIT OF DR FREDERICK JOHN SMITH, KAZUNORI ISHIBASHI (JAPANESE 1876-1928) PORTRAIT OF DR FREDERICK JOHN SMITH Oil on canvas Signed (upper right) 115.5 x 85cm (45¼ x 33¼in.) Dr Frederick John Smith (1857-1919) was a physician, teacher and surgeon at the London Hospital (no longer extant). The portrait was commissioned by the hospital on his retirement to hang in the Atheneum of the Medical College there. The Smith family own a smaller, less refined version of this portrait which they commissioned the artist to paint after the original picture. Born in Shimane Prefecture, Kazunori Ishbashi was a Japanese master of the traditional style who studied under Katei Taki (1830-1901), President of the Imperial Court Artists. He later decided to study the European style of painting, enrolling as a student at The Royal Academy of Arts in 1905, where he studied under John Singer Sargent and went on to exhibit fourteen times. He also became a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. In France, he shared a studio with the sculptor Leonard Stanford Merrifield and exhibited at the Salon in Paris. Ishibashi developed a profitable network of contacts including Japanese statesmen, Sir Adrian Boult, and Sir Leonard Hill. His vast body of work faithfully employs the style, subject and mediums of both Meiji and European painting. The present commission from the London Hospital followed a project of thirty-seven decorative silk panels depicting the Seasons for the college dining room, rendered in the traditional Japanese style. Critics put his mastery of the two disciplines down to his commitment to preserving their integrity, with one writing that he was ‘winning laurels in the two spheres of Western portraiture and Japanese decorative art by his determination to keep them distinct, and in no way letting the influences of Western art methods undermine the stronghold of Japanese art.’ With regards to portraiture, Ishibashi ‘has merited high and deserving applause, showing a dexterity in his handling of color effects and a vigor of line, as well as a masterly delineation of character, that mark his work out from that of the common painter…’ (A. Finch, ‘Panels by Mr. Kazunri Ishibashi: An Artist of the Old Japanese School.’ The American Magazine of Art, July 1917, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 346-7). Further examples of Kazunori’s work can be found in the collections of the British Museum and The Shimane Art Museum which holds his much-celebrated Portrait of a Lady Reading Poetry. The American Magazine of Art, Portrait of a Lady Reading Poetry, Condition Report:, Due to the way the canvas is presented it is not possible to say for sure whether it has been lined, however the assumption is that is has been. If not it is likely that there are instead a number of patches verso, as there are a number of repaired tears recto. The first of these, which is visible in natural light, and approx. 7cm, is in the upper right corner just adjacent to the signature. Secondly there is a repaired tear to the left side along the upper edge (approx. 10cm) and this is also visible in a natural light. Further over-painting and possible repair is visible half-way down along the right stretcher edge. Stretcher marks are visible throughout, including two running horizontally through the sitter's chest. An uneven varnish is visible throughout, especially in a raking light. Craquelure throughout, together with some surface scratching and surface dirt. Further spots of retouching are also visible in a natural light. Rubbing and abrasions to the framing edges. Inspection under UV light reveal scattered retouching throughout together with an uneven, green cloudy varnish. Condition Report Disclaimer

Estimation:€1,195.55

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