Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918)

Watanabe Seitei was born in Edo and became a Nihonga painter after studying from the age of sixteen under Kikuchi Yosai (1788-1878) and briefly also spending time in the studio of Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891). He became the first Nihonga artist to live in Europe following a trip there in 1878 which resulted in a stay of three years. His work combined Western realism with the delicate colours and washes associated with the Kikuchi Yosai school. Much of his work focussed on the kacho-e [bird and flower-pictures] genre.