Uemura Shōen
Uemura Shōen | |
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Born | Uemura Tsune April 23, 1875 Kyoto, Japan |
Died | August 27, 1949 | (aged 74)
Nationality | Japanese |
Known for | Painter |
Movement | Nihonga |
Awards | Order of Culture |
Uemura Shōen (上村 松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the
Biography
Shōen was born in
Shōen was sent to the
In 1894, Shōen became a disciple of
Shōen drew from her artistic training and her personal interest in woodblock prints and older painting styles to develop new techniques and styles of composition with a broad range of subjects. Themes and elements from the traditional Noh drama frequently appeared in her works, but images of beautiful women (bijin-ga) came to dominate her work. Eventually, her work would combine the themes of both Noh and women in a single composition.
With all her might, she painted Honō (焔, Flame) in 1918, a painting about female jealousy and eternal love that cemented her reputation. For a while after that, she did not exhibit her work.[4]
In 1924, she returned to the art world by exhibiting a painting titled Yōkihi (楊貴妃, the consort Yang Guifei) at the Fourth Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. The painting is now at the Shōhaku Art Museum in Nara.
During the 1930s, when Shōen was in her late 50s and early 60s, she began producing very large works. These include Spring and Autumn (1930), Jo-no-mai (1936), and Soshi-arai Komachi (1937). Many of these works, especially Jo-no-mai are now considered her greatest masterpieces. It is believed that the model for Jo-no-mai is Shoen's daughter-in-law portraying a confident and dignified women in a brilliantly colored orange kimono fading into a cloud pattern at the hem.[3]
Noh Dance Prelude (序の舞, Jo-no-mai) | |
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Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo |
Jo-no-mai and Soshi-arai Komachi were inspired by the Noh theater. (Jo-no-mai is a dance performed in the introduction to a Noh play, and Soshi-arai Komachi is the title of a Noh play about the Heian period poet Ono no Komachi.) Shoen took great inspiration from the female character in noh theater. It is important to note that men performed all the roles in noh theater including the female roles. Despite this Shoen used women models to recreate the poses of her work suggesting something of her views of women.[3] Both paintings are characterized by a strong feeling of majesty, with a large central figure against an empty background. The use of color is carefully planned so that the light surfaces of clothes and other items stand out prominently against the negative space.
In 1941, Shōen became the first woman painter in Japan to be invited to join the Imperial Art Academy. She was appointed a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency in 1944.
During
In 1948, she became the first woman to be awarded Japan's prestigious
Beautiful women
Despite being known for works of beautiful women bijinga (Ukiyo-e beauty portraits) Shōen reportedly said "Never once did I paint a work with the expectation that it would be a fine work as long as the woman depicted was beautiful. My earnest hope is that all my works are like fragrant jewels, always with a sense of fresh purity, never with even an iota of the vulgar".[5] She is respected for her fight for women's rights in Japan and her achievements as a great artist not just a female artist.[6]
During Shōen's time, Japanese art was experiencing a change in style and influence. Western production of oil paintings became popular for many artists. Shōen, however, stuck to her use of mineral pigments, or iwaenogu, and Japanese-style themes. Her paintings show ordinary women, female characters in noh theater, but the majority of her work shows women out in the elements in their finery. In Women Walking Against a Snowstorm (1911), a dramatic action scene is depicted of a beautiful woman not bending to the elements or the power of the storm. Shōen's work shows the quiet empowerment of women through her subtle portrayal of emotion. Uemura's 1918 work on the theme of jealousy, Honō (焔, Flame), which depicts an ikiryō (living ghost) incarnate in jealousy without compromising dignity, is considered to have raised the standard of nihonga. This work solidified her reputation by overturning the criticism some critics had made of her earlier work, calling her a "faceless doll". This work was directly inspired by Lady Rokujō, who appears in The Tale of Genji and the noh play Aoi no Ue, and was also inspired by Bijin zu (美人図, Beauty), an 18th century painting by Soga Shōhaku now in the collection of the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art.[7][8][4] Shōen contributed to the change for how the public viewed women's art through her own works.[3]
Philately
Uemura Shōen's works have been selected as the subject of
- 1965: Jo no mai, to commemorate the 1965 Philatelic Week
- 1980: Mother and Child, as part of the Modern Art Series
In 2000, Uemura Shōen herself was the subject of a commemorative postage stamp under the Cultural Leaders Series by Japan Post.
In 2017, Shōen's work was featured in Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga, Paintings of Beautiful Women, a two month-long (August 29, 2017 - October 22, 2017) an exhibition organized by Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc. The exhibition featured four sections: Uemura Shōen—Fragrant Beauty, Famous Women from Literature and History, Maiko and Geisha, Beauties Past and Present—Chic Japanese Garb Gorgeous Western Garb. Shōen dominated the selected works in the first section, with additional work being showcased in the second.[5]
References
- Briessen, Fritz van. The Way of the Brush: Painting Techniques of China and Japan. Tuttle (1999). ISBN 0-8048-3194-7
- Conant, Ellen P., Rimer, J. Thomas, Owyoung, Stephen. Nihonga: Transcending the Past: Japanese-Style Painting, 1868-1968. Weatherhill (1996). ISBN 0-8348-0363-1
- Kato, Ruiko. Niji o miru: Shoen to sono jidai. Kyoto Shinbunsha (1991). ISBN 4-7638-0279-8
- Kimura, Ihee. Four Japanese painters: Taikan Yokoyama, Gyokudo Kawai, Shoen Uemura, Kiyokata Kaburaki (JPS picture books). Japan Photo Service (1939). ASIN: B000888WYA
- Specific
- ^ a b c d Morioka, Michiyo. "Changing images of women: Taisho-period paintings by Uemura Shoen (1875-1949), Ito Shoha (1877-1968), and Kajiwara Hisako (1896-1988)," PhD diss. University of Washington (1990).
- ^ a b "Painting women of Japan". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ a b c d e "Women of quiet strength". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ a b 上村松園とは (in Japanese). kyotodeasobo ART. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga,Paintings of Beautiful Women [Past Exhibition]". Yamatane Museum of Art (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ "Shoen Uemura - artelino". www.artelino.com. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ Gordenker, Alice (2021-03-19). "Bewitching, beguiling and downright disturbing: Unconventional views of beauty in Japanese art". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ 焔(ほのお) (in Japanese). Tokyo National Museum. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
External links
- Image of Uemura Shōen's Late Autumn at Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
- Shohaku Art Museum in Nara (Japanese site) where many of her works are displayed
- Artworks and history of Uemura Shoen Archived 2015-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
- Adachi Museum of Art page on Uemura Shoen (English)
- Brief Bio of Uemura Shoen - Jyuluck-Do Corporation