Aoyama Kumaji

Aoyama Kumaji

Aoyama Kumaji ( Japanese 青山 熊 治 ; born May 22, 1886 in Ikuno (now Asago ), Hyōgo Prefecture ; died December 11, 1932 there ) was a Japanese painter of the Yōga direction during the Meiji , Taishō and early Shōwa periods .

life and work

After finishing school, Aoyama Kumaji went to the Kansai area, then to Tokyo . Like his older colleagues, who also came from Ikuno, Shirataki Ikunosuke (白 瀧 幾 之 助; 1873-1960) and Wada Sanzō , from 1903 he studied painting at the Tokyo Art School, the forerunner of today's Geidai , under Takagi Haisui (高木 背 水; 1877–1943). In 1907 he showed at the trade exhibition in Tokyo (東京 勧 夫 博 覧 会, Tōkyō kangyō hakuranjai) the picture "Old Miner" (老坑 夫; Rōkōfu) and won a 2nd prize. In 1920 he showed the picture “Ainu” (ア イ ヌ) at the 13th exhibition of the Hakuba Group (白馬 会) and won the association's prize. In the same year he was able to exhibit the picture “Ninety-nine Miles” (九 十九 里, Kujūkuri) and the “Buddha” (金 仏, Kanabutsu) in the following year, both of which were also awarded a prize.

As a young artist he was already successful, but wanted to further educate himself and in 1913 he traveled overland from Dalian via Siberia to Europe. There he visited different countries and painted with great effort until he returned to Japan in 1922. He now exhibited at the successor institution of the Bunter, the “Teiten” (帝 展), so in 1932 the picture “ejecting the net” (投 網, Toami), and also worked as a consultant for the exhibition. During that time he was working on a mural for the engineering faculty at Kyushu University , but he was unable to complete it.

photos

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  Old miner, 1907

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  Young Russian woman, 1915

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  On the plateau, 1926

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  Mural (Kyushu University)

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  Mount Fuji, 1932

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  drawing

Remarks

1. ↑ Colorful (文 展) is the abbreviation for the annual state art exhibition Mombushō bijutsu tenrankai ( 文部省 美術展 覧 会 ), which took place from 1907 to 1918. It was continued under different names.
2. ↑ The 99 miles indicate the long beach ( Kujūkuri-hama ) on the Pacific side of the Bōsō Peninsula .

literature

• Yamada Shoten (Ed.): Hanga-ka Meiran . Yamada Shoten, 1985.
• Aoyama Kumaji . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 4, Seemann, Leipzig 1990, ISBN 3-598-22744-2 , p. 486.

Web links

Commons : Aoyama Kumaji  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• 2013 Aoyama exhibition at the Himeji Municipal Art Museum

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Aoyama is the family name, Kumaji the first name.