小林古径
草花
1951（昭和26）年 紙本彩色･軸装 48.7×63.5cm
Kobayashi Kokei
Flowers and Plants
1951 (Showa 26), color on paper, mounted on a scroll, 48.7 x 63.5 cm
梶田半古に師事した古径は、伝統的な日本画の教育を受けると同時に、写生ということを非常に重んじた師の教えを受け、写実の基礎を固めました。1922（大正11）年、日本美術院の留学生として前田青邨とともに渡欧した折には、大英博物館で伝顧愷之『女史箴図巻』の｢春蚕の糸を吐くが如き描線｣に感銘を受けました。東洋古画のもつ繊細かつ強靭な線描へと傾倒しながら、｢実物の性格や機能、形や色や量、更にはその生命までも知り尽くそう｣という写実精神にもとづくことで、古径の芸術は形成されていきます。
本作は古径晩年の作です。チューリップの茎や花弁には肥痩（線の細い太い）のない線描がみられます。その厳しい線描は、抑制された色彩や理知的な構成、余白のぼかしと相俟って黒いチューリップの生命力を見事にあらわしているといえるでしょう。
Kokei, who studied under Kajita Hanko, received traditional Japanese painting education while also emphasizing sketching, a principle highly valued by his teacher, thus solidifying his foundation in realism. In 1922, when he traveled to Europe with Maeda Seison as a student of the Japan Art Institute, he was impressed by the "silk thread-like lines" of Gu Kaizhi's "Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies" at the British Museum. While being drawn to the delicate yet robust linework of ancient Eastern paintings, Kokei's art was formed based on the spirit of realism, aiming to fully understand the character, function, shape, color, volume, and even the life of the subject.
This work is from Kokei's later years. The stems and petals of the tulips exhibit linework without variation in thickness. This strict linework, combined with restrained colors, intellectual composition, and blurred margins, beautifully expresses the vitality of the black tulips.