Yoshioka Kenji

Yoshioka Kenji ( Japanese 吉岡 堅 二 ; born October 27, 1906 in Tokyo ; died July 15, 1990 ) was a Japanese painter of the Nihonga direction during the Shōwa period .

life and work

Yoshioka's father belonged to the studio of Terazaki Kōgyō ( 寺 崎 広 業 ; 1866-1919). In 1923 Yoshioka left middle school to study painting under the painter Noda Kyūho ( 野 田 九 浦 ; 1879–1971). He received his first recognition at the 7th Teiten exhibition in 1926 and then a major award at the 11th exhibition for his picture "Deer of Nara" ( 奈良 の 鹿 , Nara no shika ). He continues to exhibit at the Teiten and founded in 1934 together with Fukuda Toyoshirō , Komatsu Hitoshi , Iwahashi Eien and others, the "New Nihonga Research Association" ( 新 日本 画 研究 会 , Shin Nihonga kenkyū-kai). In 1938 he took part in the founding of the "New Artists' Association" ( 新 美術 人 協会 , Shin bijutsujin kyōkai ), which in turn formed the basis for the Nihonga department within the "New Creative Society" ( 新 製作 協会 , Shin seisaku kyōkai ).

From 1940 to 1942 he took part in the project that dealt with copying the murals in buildings of the Hōryū-ji . He also acted as a juror for the colorful exhibitions. Between 1943 and 1945 he created images of war, some of which are kept in the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo .

After the war he continued to work for the successor organization, the Nitten. But then took part in 1948, together with Fukuda Toyoshirō , Uemura Shōkō , Yamamoto Kyūjin and others, in the establishment of the group "Creative Art" ( 創造 美術 , Sōzō bijutsu ). In 1951 this group united with the "New Society of the Creative Direction" ( 新 制作 派 協会 , Shin seisakuha kyōkai ), a group of painters in the Western style ( 洋 画 , yōga ), to the "New Creative Society" ( 新 制作 協会 , Shin seisaku kyōkai ). The members of the "creative arts" formed the most important group of the Nihonga direction.

Yoshioka received the Minister of Culture's Grand Prize in 1950 and the Academy of Arts Prize in 1971 . He became an assistant professor at Geidai in 1959 , later became a professor and worked there until 1969. - His early works, such as “Woman, sitting on a chair” ( 椅子 に よ る 女 , Isu ni yoru onna ; 1931), show a touch of Art Deco , later the flower-and-bird pictures become a little more abstract. He combined intellectual composition with bold coloring. Typical works are “Wetland” ( 湿 原 , Shitsugen ; 1940) in the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo and “Pheasant” ( 雉 子 , Kiji ) in the Riccar Art Museum, also in Tokyo.

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Teiten ( 帝 展 ) is the abbreviation for the annual state art exhibition ( 帝国 美術展 覧 会 , Teikoku bijutsu-in tenrankai ) between 1919 and 1935. The successor from 1936 to 1944 Bunten ( 文部省 美術展 覧 会 ), the one ( 新 ) for "New" was added to differentiate the exhibition series of the same name from 1907 to 1918. From 1946 onwards, the name was changed to Nitten for Nihon bijutsu tenrankai .

literature

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

Pictures in the National Museum

• "Woman sitting on a chair"
• "Wetland"

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