Watanabe Seitei · 1852–1918
Watanabe Seitei
Watanabe Seitei was a Meiji-and-Taisho-era Nihonga painter born in Kanda, Edo. He went to Europe for the 1878 Paris Exposition, associated with Degas and others, and excelled at stylish bird-and-flower paintings that took in Western techniques.
Watanabe Seitei was born in 1852 in Kanda, Edo (present-day Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo), and died in 1918. His original family name was Yoshikawa and his given name was Yoshimata. At 16 he became a pupil of Kikuchi Yosai and also admired Shibata Zeshin as a model. At 22 he was adopted into the Watanabe family and took the name Watanabe.
From 1875 he worked on designs for export crafts at the Kiritsu Kosho Company, and in 1878 he went to Europe in time for the Paris Exposition and stayed about two years. He is said to have associated with Degas and Goncourt.
In 1890 he published the woodblock-printed book Seitei Kacho Gafu, and at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair his "Flock of Chickens in Snow" drew a strong response. After that he withdrew from the art establishment and devoted himself to painting, taking commissions from Japan and abroad. His works include "Pair of Pheasants under a Weeping Cherry."
