The National Museum of Western Art

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National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. One of the examples of architecture by Le Corbusier

The National Museum of Western Art (国立西洋美術館, Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan^?) is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition.

The Museum is located in the museum and zoo complex in Ueno Park in central Tokyo. This popular Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym NMWA (National Museum of Western Art).

1 NMWA history
2 MMWA collections
- 2.1 Le Corbusier's building
- 2.2 Union catalog
3 Notes
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] NMWA history

Rodin's "The Thinker" near the entrance of the National Museum of Western Art.

The NMWA was established in 1959, developed around the core art collection of Matsukata Kojiro (1865-1950), whose thinking is mirrored in the museum he anticipated. Would he have been pleased to find Rodin's "Thinker" resting pensively in front of the museum entrance?

Matsukata's acquisition strategies were designed to create the nucleus of what he hoped would become an evolving national museum specializing in Western art.^[1]

The museum exhibits works from the Renaissance to the early 20th century, many having been acquired since the museum's opening. The museum's purpose is to provide the public with opportunities to appreciate western art.^[2]

Since its opening, the museum, as Japan's only national institution devoted to western art, has been involved in exhibitions, art work and document acquisition, research, restoration and conservation, education and the publication of materials related to western art.^[2]

The museum is involved in the development and organization of a special exhibition every year. These exhibitions feature works on loan from private collections and museums both in and out of Japan.^[2] In 1963, NMWA created a splash on the international art scene by bringing together 450 works by the French-Russian artist Marc Chagall. The exhibition brought together Chagall's work from 15 countries, including 8 paintings lent from the Soviet Union; and it was believed to be the most comprehensive show mounted during the artist's lifetime.^[3]

[edit] MMWA collections

NMWA has purchased art work every year since its establishment in its efforts to build and develop its permanent collection.^[2] The museum houses about 4,500 works, including examples of painting and sculpture from the 14th through the beginning of the 20th century. The museum's holdings have expanded in the decades since the museum was first opened to the public:^[1]

Paintings; 18th century and earlier
The Main Building displays pre-18th century paintings, including those by Veronese,^[4] Rubens,^[5] and Fragonard.^[6] Many of these paintings are religious paintings featuring imagery from Christianity.

Paintings: 19th-20th century
The New Wing displays 19th to early 20th century French paintings, including works by Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Moreau.^[7] The galleries also feature works by the next generation of artists, such as Marquet, Picasso, Soutin, Ernst, Miro, Dubuffet and Pollock.^[8]

Drawings
The NMWA drawing collection centers on works by such 18th to 19th century French artists as Boucher, Fragonard, Delacroix, Moreau, Rodin, and Cezanne.

Prints
The prints collection features works by Durer, Holbein, Rembrandt, Callot, Piranesi, Goya, and Klinger, ranging from the 15th century through the early 20th century.^[9]

[edit] Le Corbusier's building

National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. One of the examples of architecture by Le Corbusier

The Main Building was designed by the French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887-1965), who is more popularly known as Le Corbusier. It is the only representative example of his work in the Far East;^[10] and the New York Times review of its opening suggested that the building itself presented an "artistic significance and beauty" which rivaled the paintings inside.^[11] The multi-story, reinforced concrete building was completed in March 1959 as a symbol of the resumption of diplomatic ties between Japan and France after World War II.^[12]

In 1998, the importance of the structure was underscored when it was included in the former Ministry of Construction's survey -- as on of the hundred selected public buildings (the Kokyo Kenchiku 100 Sen) which are outstanding and "well established in the local community."^[12]

[edit] Union catalog

The "Union Catalog of the Collections of the National Art Museums, Japan" is an consolidated catalog of material held by the four Japanese national art museums -- the National Museum of Modern Art at Kyoto (MOMAK), the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (MOMAT), the National Museum of Art in Osaka (NMAO), and the Nation the National Museum of Western Art at Tokyo (NMWA):^[13]