This album in auction is the second volume of a set of three albums by Watanabe Shotei/Seitei, dated 1891, Meiji period (1868 – 1912), in excellent condition. Dimension: 6 ½ x 9 ¾ inches or 16.5 x 25.2 cm. Provenance: French private collection from Versailles, lle-de-France. Biography of Watanabe Shotei: according to the British Museum, Watanabe Shotei (1851-1918) is a painter and print artist. One of the first Nihonga artists to go to Europe. He travelled to France in 1878 for the International Exhibition, where he was awarded a bronze medal. He combined the realistic elements he found in Western art with the light colors and wash effects of the Maruyama-Shijo school, thereby creating a new kind of kachoga (bird-and-flower painting).