Yamaguchi Kaoru

Yamaguchi Kaoru ( Japanese 山口 薫 ; born August 13, 1907 in Minowa , Gunma County (today: Takasaki ); died May 19, 1968 ) was a Japanese painter in the Yōga style during the Shōwa period and professor at the Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku .

life and work

Yamaguchi was born in Minowa, Gunma Prefecture, into an established family. He graduated from Takasaki Middle School in 1925 . Already during his time in middle school he was interested in oil painting and enrolled in the department for western painting at the Tokyo Art School ( 東京 美術 学校 , Tōkyō bijutsu gakkō ), the forerunner of today's Geidai . There he completed his training in 1930. During his time at the art college, he was able to show a work on the Teiten in 1927. Then he continued to exhibit on the Teiten, but also on the "Association 1930" ( 1930 年 協会 , 1930-nen kyōkai ) and the Kokugakai ( 国画 会 ).

In 1930 Yamaguchi traveled to Europe, traveling from Paris to southern France, Spain, Italy and other countries. He returned to Japan in 1933 and showed pictures at the Kokugakai exhibition that were taken during his stay in Europe. This included "man in a green robe" ( 緑色 の 人 , Ryokui no hito ).

In 1934 Yamaguchi, together with Murai Masanari , Hasegawa Saburō and others, founded the artist group "New Age" ( 新 時代 , Shinjidai ) and in 1937 he participated in the founding of the "Association of Free Artists" ( 自由 美術 家 協会 , Jiyū bijutsuka kyōkai ) . It was around this time that Yamaguchi began to paint pictures in a poetic style with pure, lyrical colors. He simplified the representation up to abstract painting.

After the World War , Yamaguchi took part in the founding of the "Association for Modern Art" ( モ ダ ン ア ー ト 協会 , Modan āto kyōkai ) in 1950 , with which he then mainly exhibited. He has also been featured in international exhibitions, such as the Salon de Mai (1952), the São Paulo Biennale (1953, 1957), the Guggenheim Prize International Art Exhibition (1958) and the Venice Biennale . The awards that Yamaguchi received include the Mainichi Newspaper Grand Prize (1959) and the Ministry of Education Award ( 芸 術 選 奨 文 部 大臣 新人 賞 , Geijutsu sehnshō Mombu daijin shinjin shō ; 1960).

From 1953 Yamaguchi taught at Geidai, from 1964 as a professor. His representative works include “Kordel” ( 紐 , Himo ; 1939). "Birth of Hanako" ( 花子 誕生 , Hanako tanjō ) and "Copper-colored moon" ( 銅色 の 月 , Dōiro no tsuki ).

Remarks

1. ↑ Teiten ( 帝 展 ) stands for Teikoku bijutsu tenrankai ( 帝国 芸 術 展 覧 会 ). That was the state-organized Japanese art exhibition in the 1930s and 1940s.

literature

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

Web links

• Yamaguchi Kaoru: Selection of Images

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