Imao keinen biography template

Moements with Imao, Keinen (1845-1924)
Japanese painter, calligrapher, printmaker and textile designer.

Imao Keinen was born in 1845 in Kyoto. He began his classical art education at age 11, studying painting in the Ukiyo-e style, a genre of Japanese art which flourished in the 17th to 19th centuries. Ukriyo-e artists produced woodblock prints and paintings.

He became a highly respected artist, printmaker, teacher, and calligrapher and his work can be found in many museums around the world.

His best known work Keinen Kachō Gafu (Flower and Bird Albums) was created in 1891, a collection of 4 albums of woodblock prints, one for each of the four seasons. "Kacho ga" is a term used for bird and flower prints. This form of art reached its peak in the late 19th century.

In 1919 he became a member of the Imperial Art Academy. In this period of his life he was probably the most famous painter of his time.

Keinen Imao

Keinen Imao was born in Kyoto in 1845, as the fifth son of Imao Inosuke. He first studied Ukiyo-e with Umegawa Tokyo, and later studied painting and calligraphy under Suzuki Hyakunen. He created his own eclectic woodblock print style by studying other styles as well. He worked in his father’s business and studied painting in the evenings, that is until he started his own studio in 1868 (the family business was lost towards the end of the Tokugawa period). At this time Nanga painting was at its summit, and many artists turned to Nanga, but Keinen remained true to his own style. During this period, he found himself working as a design advisor for a textile company to make ends meet. 
 By 1890, he was a professor at the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting, and was a frequent exhibitor and prize-winner at many shows and exhibitions in Japan and in Paris. In 1904 he became a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household, an

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