Tsuchida Bakusen
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| Tsuchida Bakusen | |
 Tsuchida Bakusen |
|
| Birth name | Tsuchida Kinji |
| Born | 9 February 1887 Sado, Niigata, Japan |
| Died | 10 June 1936 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Field | Painter |
| Movement | Nihonga |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Tsuchida.
Bakusen Tsuchida (土田麦僊 Tsuchida Bakusen?, 9 February 1887 - 10 June 1936) was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter in the Nihonga style, active during the Taisho and early Showa eras. His real name was Tsuchida Kinji.
Bakusen was born on Sado island in Niigata prefecture to was born into a wealthy and influential family. His elder brother was a noted philosopher. As an adolescent, Bakusen wanted to become a Buddhist monk, but was dissuaded by his parents and decided to study art instead. He was accepted as a student by painter and printmaker Takeuchi Seiho, and later studied at the Kyoto Kaiga Senmon Gakko (present day Kyoto City University of Arts) from which he graduated in 1911.
In 1912, after graduation, he traveled to Europe, touring the great art museums, and returned again from 1921-1923. He was particularly fond of French Impressionism and post-impressionism, especially the works of Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne.
In 1918, Bakusen established his own art circle, together with Murakami Kagaku, called the Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai ("National Creative Painting Association"), which is used as a vehicle to disseminate his eclectic style combining western [[yoga (art)|yoga) and Japanese (Nihonga) painting techniques and styles. His favorite subjects were women (bijinga), especially portraits of maiko, flowers and still life. He held his own exhibition in competition to the increasingly restrictive Bunten Exhibitions in 1918, and held seven more exhibitions between 1918 and 1928.
In 1934, he was appointed to the Teikoku Bijutsuin (Imperial Art Academy). One of his works from 1918, "Prostitute" (湯女図 Yunazu?), now at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art is registered as an Important Cultural Property (ICP) by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. However, his painting "Maiko in Garden" (舞妓林泉 Bukirinsen?) from 1923 is far more famous.
The town of Yahata in the Niigata Prefecture established a Tsuchida Bakusen Commemorative Museum, which exhibits 80 of his works. Other works are on display at the Niigata City Art Museum.
[edit] Philately
One of Bakusen's works was selected as the subject of a commemorative postage stamp by the Japanese government:
- 1979: Bukirinsen, commemorating the 1968 Philatelic Week
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Conant, Ellen P., Rimer, J. Thomas, Owyoung, Stephen. Nihonga: Transcending the Past: Japanese-Style Painting, 1868-1968. Weatherhill (1996). ISBN: 0834803631
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| "Maiko in Landscape" (舞妓林泉 Bukirinsen?) |
| Tsuchida Bakusen, 1924 |
| Nihonga |
| 217.7 cm × 102.0 cm cm |
| Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo |
