Iwahashi Eien

Iwahashi Eien ( Japanese 岩 橋 英 遠 , first name originally read Hidetō ; born January 12, 1903 in Hokkaidō Prefecture ; died July 12, 1999 in Sagamihara ) was a Japanese painter of the Nihonga direction during the Shōwa period .

life and work

Iwahashi Eien went to Tokyo in 1924 and studied painting under Yamanouchi Tamon ( 山 内 多 門 ; 1878–1932). After he had shown at the exhibition Chūō Bijutsu ( 中央 美術展 ) works, he participated in the exhibitions in 1932 and 1933 at the exhibitions of the "Blue Dragon Society" ( 青龍 社 , Seiryū-sha ). In 1934 he received his first prize at the 21st Inten exhibition. In the same year he founded the "Study Society for New Nihonga" ( 新 日本 画 研究 会 , Shin nihonga kenkyūkai ) with Yoshioka Kenji , Fukuda Toyoshirō , Komatsu Hitoshi and others . After he was accepted into the Nihon Bijutsuin as a "friend" in 1937 , he received support from Yasuda Yukihiko . After the study society for new Nihonga had dissolved in 1938, Eien participated, together with Maruki Iri, Funada Gyokuju and others, in the establishment of the Rekitei bijutsu kyōkai ( 歴 程 美術 協会 ). In addition, he continued to exhibit at the Inten. - In 1945 Eien joined the "Thursday Society" ( 火 曜 会 , Kayō-kai ), which was formed by Yasuda's students.

Eien received the Nihon Bijutsuin Prize at his 35th exhibition in 1950 and also the Yokyma Taikan Prize for his painting "Meiji", where he was accepted as a member. In 1953 he won the Minister of Education Award ( 藝術 選 奨 文 部 大臣 賞 , Geijutsu senshō mombu daijin shō ) and the 1959 Grand Prize of the Minister of Education. In 1958 he became a lecturer at Geidai and a professor there in 1968, then left the university in 1970. In 1989 he was named a Person of Special Cultural Merit and in 1994 was awarded the Order of Culture .

Eien was one of the most important artists at the Inten exhibitions of the post-war period. He is known for his intellectual themes, which he provided with surrealist elements, and for a limited, sensitive color palette.

Remarks

1. ↑ Inten ( 院 展 ) is the abbreviation for the exhibitions of Nihon Bijutsuin.

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Iwahashi Eien . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Web links (images)

• Painting “ Darkening ” ( 蝕 , Shoku), 1959. Owned by the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Iwahashi is the family name, Eien the first name.