Harada Naojirō

Harada at the desk

" Kannon on the Dragon", 1890

Harada Naojirō ( Japanese 原田 直 次郎 ; October 12, 1863 in Edo (now Tokyo ) until December 26, 1899 ) belonged to the first generation of Japanese painters who studied painting in Europe.

life and work

Naojirō came from an old samurai family. He was born as the second son of the later major general Harada Ichidō (1830-1910) in Edo. Harada first studied French and graduated from the Tokyo Foreign Language School ( 東京 外国語 学校 , Tōkyō gaikokugo gakkō ) in 1881. Interested in painting from an early age, he received his first lessons from Yamaoka Shigeaki, and from 1883 continued studying painting under Takahashi Yuichi at his school Tenkaisha ( 天 絵 舎 ).

In 1884 he went to Munich and studied there until 1886. In Munich he met Mori Ōgai , with whom he became friends, and also made the acquaintance of the budding painter Julius Extner. On instructions from the Japanese Ministry of Culture , he took care of the department head and cultural politician Hamao Arata (1849–1925) in 1885 .

At the end of 1886, Harada began his return journey. He traveled through Switzerland to Venice , where he met Naganuma Moritoshi and in Rome Matsuoka Hisashi (1862–1944). The following year he made a stop in Paris and attended lectures at the École des Beaux-Arts , then returned to Tokyo.

Back in Tokyo, Harada opened a school of painting under the name Shōbikan ( 鐘 美 館 ). In 1889 he was co-founder of the artists' association Meiji bijutsukai ( 明治 美術 会 ). Harada fell ill in 1893, but remained active until he died at the age of 36. His students include Kobayashi Mango (1970–1947), Itō Yoshihiko (1868–1942), Wada Eisaku (1874–1959), Miyake Kokki (1874–1954), Ōshita Tōjirō (1870–1911) and others.

Harada's style is shaped by the German academic painting style at the end of the 19th century, but was also influenced by the Romantic period.

photos

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  Village street

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  child

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  girl

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  In the cottage garden, around 1886

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  Harada
  

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  Old cobbler

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  Harada and Mori in Munich

Remarks

1. ↑ Mori Ōgai later wrote an obituary for Harada.
2. ↑ This picture was shown at the exhibition Japanese Painting in Western Style 1985 in the Museum for East Asian Art in Cologne.
3. ↑ Painted in Munich by Julius Exter (1863–1939).
4. ↑ Harada front row, in the middle, Mori Ogai back row, second from the left.

literature

• Tokyo National Museum & a. (Ed.): Meiji no yōga - Meiji no toō gaka . Nihon no bijutsu. Issue 350, 1995.
• Japan Foundation (Ed.): Japanese Painting in the Western Style, 19th and 20th Centuries. Exhibition catalog, Cologne, 1985.
• Laurance P. Roberts: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Harada Naojirō  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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