NEW ORLEANS.-Last year, NOMA acquired its first work by 詋yo, a large-scale hanging scroll of a Chinese general, Guan Yu, dated to 1779. This magnificent work now forms the centerpiece of a new installation of Japanese painting in the Asian Galleries. Nearly 30 paintings by 詋yo and many of his major students, including his son Maruyama 詚ui (1766- 1829), Genki (1747- 97), Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-99), Matsumura Goshun (1752- 1811), his brother Matsumura Keibun (1779- 1843) and Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845), among others are included in the exhibition. Drawn from NOMA’s permanent collection and generous loans from the Gitter-Yelen Foundation of New Orleans, Reinventing Tradition is on view through December 2005.

Maruyama 詋yo (1733-95) was unquestionably the most influential painter and teacher of his time in the former imperial capital of Kyoto and sought to revolutionize Japanese painting practice in the 18th century. Fiercely independent, and clearly ambitious, 詋yo believed that the foundation of contemporary painting was sketching from life, and numerous sketches of a wide range of subjects still survive. He painted numerous subjects employing aspects of various styles and encouraged his students and followers to develop their own personal approach and brush manner. Until recently, NOMA had no paintings by this Edo-period master, although a number of works by his students and associates had long been part of the collection.

In NOMA’s painting, 詋yo depicts Guan Yu, a noted Chinese General who lived during the tumultuous era known as the Three Kingdoms period (220- 280). The monumental figure is dressed in rich, yet understated robes, and sits upon an elaborately carved lacquer chair that is itself covered by a richly brocaded cloth of dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst clouds. The sophisticated interplay of seemingly opposed techniques– areas of brilliant color contrasting with flat, unmodulated tones, the use of both brush outline and interior, ‘lineless’ definition, and combining illusionistic techniques to define volume with a flat, unarticulated background– are all characteristic elements of 詋yo’s mature and individual style.

During the 1770s- 1780s, 詋yo painted a number of large-scale works depicting Chinese worthies such as Guan Yu. Clearly there was a market among 詋yo’s patrons for monumental paintings depicting paragons of strength, virtue and valor. According to the signature, 詋yo painted this image “upon request” during the winter of 1779.