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Man With Broom

	Object Type	19th Century Japanese Scroll
	Artist	Hoitsu
	Period	Edo (18th and 19th century)
	Materials	Color on Paper Scroll
	Creation Date	ca. 1820
	Dimensions	119 cm. x 47.7 cm. (46 7/8 in. x 18 3/4 in.)

Commentary

This sketch style painting is a tribute to Hoitsu's inspiration from Korin's work. Hoitsu is given the credit for reviving the Rimpa school, and this is a copy of a much earlier Korin painting. This is a depiction of one of the monks, Kanzan and Jittoku. Kanzan always has a scroll implying scholarship, and Jittoku carries a broom which stands for humility.- JDP A bare footed servant (shicho) in court sweeps maple leaves. The color of maple leaves is effective. It appears that this simple composition is spontaneous and original, but a prototype is from Korin. Hoitsu compiled Korin hyaku-zu in 1815 in commemoration of Korin's centennial anniversary, and published the second volume in 1826. A copy of this work is included in the second volume. Korin's original work does not exist now, but the same composition is included in Sumiyoshike kogatomecho.. When a comparison is made with the work in Sumiyoshike kogatomecho, Hoitsu's work is very close to it even to the details, which indicates Korin hyaku-zu was a compilation of faithful copies of Korin's originals. Sumiyoshike kogatomecho explains that Hoitsu himself brought this original work of Korin and asked them to authenticate it. The Sumiyoshike indicated it as a forgery; however, Hoitsu himself authenticated the work to be real and included in his Korin hyaku-zu, and created this work. This is, therefore, an interesting work in which we can get a glimpse of Hoitsu's connoisseurship on Korin. (Murashige)