Shibata Zeshin (1807–1891) was a painter and lacquerer active in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Along with professional skills, he learned poetry, history, and philosophy; he also practiced the Way of Tea. He excelled in the technique of lacquer-painting (urushi-e), experimenting with colours and textures. Zeshin was probably the first artist to use lacquer not only for decorating objects, but also as a medium for painting on paper. His immense output includes various items decorated with lacquer (trays, boxes, inro), tea ceremony utensils, painted screens, hanging scrolls, and fan paintings. Although revolutionary in terms of technique, Zeshin remained faithful to traditional subjects, depicting plants, insects, animals, and landscapes. His work is characterised by a great sensitivity to form and composition.
Top to bottom, left to right: Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, two-panel folding screen, ink, silver, lacquer on paper second half of the 19th c. [source]; Cat Tails and Moon, album leaf, lacquer on silver paper, Edo period [source]; Birds and Jutting Rocks, album leaf, lacquer on silver paper, Edo period [source]; Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, fragment of two-panel folding screen, ink, silver leaf, and lacquer on paper, between 1871–1891 [source]; Sun and Plum Branches, album leaf, lacquer on paper, Edo period [source].
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