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Watanabe (Shotei) Seitei (1851-1918)
Dove and Snow Peonies
(Secchu Onbotan ni Hato)
hanging scroll, ink and color on silk; dated and signed, Meiji ko-shin sai ki (Meiji 37 [1904]) Seitei ga jin, with two artist's seals, Seitei, and one seal unread; accompanied by tomobako with title, Secchu onbotan ni hato, and signed Seitei ga
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painting 43 3/4 by 16 1/8 in., 111.2 by 40.9 cm
overall 78 by 23 3/8 in., 198 by 59.3 cm
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Watanabe Seitei was born Yoshikawa Yoshimata in Edo (Tokyo), and began training with the artist Kikuchi Yosai (1788-1878) at the age of sixteen, followed by a brief period in the studio of the painter and lacquer artist, Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891). Six years later he was adopted by a literary friend of the family, Watanabe Koshi. In 1878 he travelled to the United States and Europe where he received a silver metal for a painting he submitted to the Paris Exposition. He remained in Paris for three years and became the first Nihonga artist to reside in Europe to study Western painting.
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When he returned from Europe he became well-known for his sensitive kacho-ga (bird & flower) images which utilized Japanese techniques while incorporating some Western sensibilities. Seitei produced designs for ceramics and cloisonné, most notably in collaboration with the cloisonné artist Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910), which brought him even more recognition abroad. He was also a prolific painter and illustrator, publishing three notable albums: Seitei kacho gafu ('Picture album of Seitei's bird and flower'), 1890-91; Kacho gafu ('Bird and flower album'), 1903; and the last series published in 1916 (not to be confused with the 1890-91 album of the same name) Seitei kacho gafu.
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Throughout his career he received awards for his work, both in Japan and at international expositions. He was a major influence on the next generation of Nihonga artists, including Mizuno Toshikata (1866-1908) and Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878-1973).
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 Although the subject of peonies with doves is clearly classic kacho-ga, the pairing with a winter peony (fuyu botan) in particular is suggestive of a bijin subject. The dove is symbolic of marital fidelity and fertility, while the image of a winter peony has also been used as an allusion to (or comparison with) a bijin in the snow in classic ukiyo-e and 20th century shin-hanga. Perhaps the most famous example is the 1931 woodblock print by Torii Kotondo (1900-1976), Peony Snow (Botan Yuki). The term botan yuki is also a metaphor for very large snowflakes.
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References:
Helen Merritt and Nanako Yamada, Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975, University of Hawaii Press, 1992, pp. 166-167
Ellen P. Conant, Steven D. Owyoung, J. Thomas Rimer, Nihonga: Transcending the Past: Japanese-Style Painting, 1868-1968, The Saint Louis Art Museum, 1995, p. 329
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