Suzuki Shintaro

Suzuki Shintarō ( Japanese 鈴木 信太郎 ; born August 16, 1895 in Hachiōji ( Tokyo Prefecture ); died May 13, 1989 ) was a Japanese painter in the Western Yōga style of the Shōwa period .

life and work

Suzuki began studying painting at the Hakuba Institute in Tokyo in 1910 and was taught by Kuroda Seiki . In 1913 he began studying at the "Tokyo Prefecture School of Dyeing" (東京 府 立 染色 学校, Tōkyō furitsu senshoku gakkō). In 1918 one of his pictures was selected for the 10th art exhibition of the Ministry of Culture, which was entitled "Still Life" (生物, Seibutsu). In 1922 he exhibited a picture with the title "Peach and Azaleas" (桃 と 紫陽 花, Momo to ajisai) at the Nika-kai artists' association and became a student of Ishii Hakutei . In 1926 he was able to show seven pictures at the 13th Nikakai exhibition, including “Still Life”, “Still Life at the Window” (窓 辺 生物) and “Covered Day at the Lake” (池畔 曇 日), and won the Chogyū Prize. In that year Suzuki met the landscape painter Somiya Ichinen (曽 宮 一 念; 1893-1994) and joined the "Pomegranate Society" (柘 榴 社, Zakuro-sha) by Terauchi Manjirō (1890-1964) and others.

In 1929 Suzuki became an associate member of Nika-kai, and then a full member in 1936. In 1933 he began to draw covers for the magazine "Mita Literature" (三 田 文学, Mita bungaku). At the same time he created numerous illustrations of books by well-known authors such as Uno Chiyo , Niwa Fumio , Ozaki Shirō and Mushanokōji Saneatsu . After the war he continued to take part in the exhibitions of the resurrected Nika-kai. Then separated from the company and founded together with Noma Hitone (野 間 仁 根; 1901-1979), Takaoka Tokutarō (高 岡 徳 太郎; 1902-1991) and others the "Ichiyō-kai" (一 陽 会) and exhibited at the exhibitions this group.

In 1960, Suzuki received the Academy of Arts Award for his work, which he had shown at a solo exhibition the previous year, as well as for a number of landscape paintings. In 1969 he became a member of the Academy, in 1979 he held an exhibition of self-selected works in the Wakō department store in Tokyo. In 1988 he was honored as a person with special cultural merits .

Suzuki's landscapes are kept in simple shapes and well-defined colors. Examples are “House in Nagasaki” (長崎 の 家, Nagasak no ie; 1949), “Shirakaba Lake” (白樺 湖; 1990). - He also worked as an essayist. His writings include “Drum Festival” (お 祭 の 太 鼓; Omatsuri no taiko; 1949), “About Still Life” (静物 の 話; Seibutsu no hanashi; 1951), “Dutch Comedy” (阿蘭 陀 ま ん ざ い; 1954).

Remarks

1. ↑ The Chogyū Prize is named after the author and literary critic Takayama Chogyū .
2. ↑ Shirakaba Lake, literally "Birch Lake" is located in Nagano Prefecture and is known for its picturesque surroundings.

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Suzuki Shintarō . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Suzuki Shintarō . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

• Suzuki Memorial Exhibition 2015

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