Chinese painting. Can somebody read Chinese or is it japanese?

[benbenny007]

I always buy paintings and my garage is full! Starting to go trough it all. This lovely painting we had hanging for years in our daughters room. Was wondering who this artist was. Cant read Chinese, or is it Japanese 
It shows daily activities like sewing, washing, picnicking. Or is this a gathering in a park?
I always joked that these were The Emperor's Harem.
Its signed bottom left in a gold signature

[mart]

Hard to figure how to describe this one !!  Is it a print ??  My guess from looking at the hairstyles and expressions would be Chinese !!  But that is just a guess !!  Maybe Mat will know more !!

[Mat]

It is certainly a print, a Japanese woodblock print. The style of the figures and the clothes are Japanese. I could not find the seal, but it seems that it is at least partly written in Hiragana, with the first two characters being likely "ri" and "se". The last character looks like Kanji to me, but I cannot read it.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/japanese_hiragana.htm

[Mat]

I forgot to say that I like it very much, and I believe these are daily life scenes, shown in a funny way...
Mat

[mart]

Blows my Chinese theory doesn`t it ??  Hairstyles just do not look typically Japanese to me,,but it not my area either !! 

[Mat]

The hairstyles are Edo period and can be found on 17th-18th c woodblock prints, but this one is not that old. I am not sure if this print is a reproduction of an old one or made in old style, but I tend to think the latter is the case...

[benbenny007]

Blows my Chinese theory doesn`t it ??  Hairstyles just do not look typically Japanese to me,,but it not my area either !!

Thank you for your help Mart much appreciated, I also always thought that it was Chinese. We're never to old to learn 

[benbenny007]

It is certainly a print, a Japanese woodblock print. The style of the figures and the clothes are Japanese. I could not find the seal, but it seems that it is at least partly written in Hiragana, with the first two characters being likely "ri" and "se". The last character looks like Kanji to me, but I cannot read it.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/japanese_hiragana.htm

Hi Mat, thank you for your help, impressive.. Its Japanese. No wonder I couldn't find the language.

I don't think that this is a woodcut Mat. I know the difference between prints, woodcut, copper or steel and used techniques. I had a few of those Japanese woodcuts in the past but never kept them as I collect only AP oils and watercolors.   

Ive only bought this painting after I checked it myself  for being a brush aquarelle and it had the old back frame sealing intact, our daughter loved it and i was looking for a excuse to use her room for storage  . It is fairly large about 19.5x14 inch and painted on quality paper what looks like cotton paper?? with some age to it. Always thought it was mid late 20th century because of  the way its painted and the style, or am I wrong??. I will upload some closeups where you can see which paper is used and closeups of the layers of paint, imperfections and other giveaways. 

You were right about that its partly written in Hiragana. Tried to read it but have difficulties with the last symbol.
Is this last symbol made up with multiple symbols? 

There is also a deception of three women writing something down on wind fans.
Do these symbol have a meaning and is it not strange for a artist to have his/her signature in gold paint?

[mart]

I do not think its a woodblock either !!  Appears to be an inked drawing that was over painted then highlighted in certain areas !!
Or could have used acrylic on darker areas !!  Acrylic paints were widely used in 20th century Japan !!   Paper is very like the standard watercolor paper used here !!  However it was not painted as some watercolors are !!  Most watercolors are done on soaked wet paper to get certain types of flow and layered color !!  This appears to be a surface technique on dry paper !!  Few of the lines are missed entirely !! As in done rapidly !!

[benbenny007]

yes Mart thats true.
Either it was done very quickly for mass production or the artist was very confidence and its just his/her style .
Keep in mind that these are magnified closeups. Every figure is only circa 1.5 inches and the work itself is circa 14x10 inches.
You wouldn't see it if you didn't look closely.

[Chrislondo-London]

It is certainly a print, a Japanese woodblock print. The style of the figures and the clothes are Japanese. I could not find the seal, but it seems that it is at least partly written in Hiragana, with the first two characters being likely "ri" and "se". The last character looks like Kanji to me, but I cannot read it.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/japanese_hiragana.htm

You should be careful with what you say and the words you use Mat. 
People come her for advice. If this person did not know what to look for than he would have thought that this piece is a print.
You got some knowledge in certain subjects but choose your words carefully.

BenBenny007
I like this painting. To me it looks 20th century done in old style (my opinion). I would check it out more further to make sure.
It seems like not all figurines are shown and some are covered. If its easy to remove it from the frame than i would suggest to do that. Have a look at the paper to date it and the covered figurines (take some pictures of this and post them here.

If you are doing research than you always need it hands on. I personally love opening up sealed paintings, found many time pleasant surprises like old money or other paintings or works

[Mat]

I am still not convinced that this is not a print, but of course I can be wrong, so I should not have used the term "certainly". Let an expert see it.

[mart]

I agree Mat !!  We all see different things when looking at the same object !!  Depending on our location world wide we all have different methods of speaking when replying to questions !!  Those of us that are here regularly are aware of these differences and usually know what is intended !!  I know my posts may be taken differently than intended by those not used to Texas english !!  Thankfully everyone overlooks my faux pas !! ( Which is another way of saying Texas screw ups !!)

[cogar]

 Now I will freely admit that I know little to nothing about “multi-color” Japanese woodblock pictures ……. but I kinda hafts agree with Mat that the above …… “is certainly a print, a Japanese woodblock print” …….

and my reason for agreeing, which could be 100% wrong,   is that iffen one looks at those posted “enlargements” …… one can easily see a “registration” problem with the different “woodblocks” when the different colors were being applied.   

Especially with the 3rd enlargement in Reply #7

[ghopper1924]

Now I will freely admit that I know little to nothing about “multi-color” Japanese woodblock pictures ……. but I kinda hafts agree with Mat that the above …… “is certainly a print, a Japanese woodblock print” …….

and my reason for agreeing, which could be 100% wrong,   is that iffen one looks at those posted “enlargements” …… one can easily see a “registration” problem with the different “woodblocks” when the different colors were being applied.   

Especially with the 3rd enlargement in Reply #7

Seems reasonable to me.