竹内栖鳳

Takeuchi Seihō (1864–1942) pioneered modern nihonga by synthesizing the realist traditions of the Maruyama-Shijō school with techniques observed during his 1900 journey through Europe, where he encountered Turner and Corot. Born in Kyoto to a restaurant family, he studied under Kōno Bairei and quickly distinguished himself as a master of animal painting—from exotic creatures like lions to intimate domestic subjects.