Suzuki Kiitsu

Japanese painter, illustrator and poet ( 1796-1858).

Considered the last master of the Rinpa school of decorative painting.
In 1813 Kiitsu moved to Edo where he took up study with Sakai Hoitsu, the leading proponent of a Rinpa revival. He was adopted into the family of Suzuki Reitan, another of Hoitsu’s pupils, and married his sister. When Reitan died in 1817, Kiitsu inherited his samurai rank and became a salaried retainer of the Sakai family. After seven years of study and work, Kiitsu was talented enough to be collaborating with Hoitsu on his compilation of Korin hyakuzu (‘One hundred pictures by Korin’). Eventually, he developed his own style, adapting the elegant compositions and brilliant opaque colors of the Rinpa masters and the decorative naturalism of the Maruyama–Shijo schools.

His most highly regarded work are his many hanging scrolls, including renditions of seasonal plants. Above an example of one of these scrolls, "Morning Glories".