Kuroda Seki
Who is Kuroda Seki?
Viscount Kuroda Seki (黒田清輝 - July 15, 1924–June 29, 1866) was a Japanese painter and educator, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the yoga (or Western style) movement in Japanese painting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and has come to be remembered in Japan as "the father of Western-style painting."
_ Details about Kuroda Seki's life
Kuroda was born in Takambaba, Satsuma Domain (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture), the son of Kuroda Kyokani, a samurai of the Shimazu clan, and his wife Yahiko. [1] At birth, the boy was called Shintari; This was changed to Seiki in 1877 when he was eleven years old. [1] In his personal life, he used the name Kuroda Kiyoteru, which uses an alternate pronunciation of the same Chinese characters. [ need source ]
Even before his birth, Kuroda was chosen by his uncle, Kuroda Kitsune, as his heir; Officially, he was adopted in 1871, after traveling to Tokyo with both his mother and adoptive mother to live at his uncle's house. [1] Kitsune was also Shimazu's agent, [1] his services to Emperor Meiji in the Bakumatsu period and at the Battle of Toba Fushimi led to his appointment to high positions in the new imperial government; [1] In 1887 he received the nickname viscount. [1] Because of his position, Kuroda the Elder was exposed to many trends and modernization ideas coming to Japan during the early Meiji period. As his heir, young Kyoteru also learned from them and took his lessons seriously.
Certificates obtained by Kuroda Seki
Kuroda received drawing lessons in his youth, and his adoptive mother gave him a watercolor as a gift upon his departure for Paris, but he considered drawing no more than a hobby. However, in February 1886, Kuroda was attending a party at the Japanese legation of Japanese citizens in Paris; Here, he met the painters Yamamoto Hosoi and Fuji Masazō, as well as the art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi, [4] who specializes in Ukiyo-e. The three urged the young student to switch to painting, [5] saying he could better help his country by learning to draw like Westerners rather than learning the law. [1] Kuroda agreed and began formally studying art in an art studio while continuing his law studies at the same time to please his adoptive father. [6] This position proved untenable, and Kuroda finally succeeded in convincing his father to allow him to give up his legal studies and study painting full time. [6] In May 1886, Kuroda entered the studio of Raphael Colin, [3][7] a noted academic painter who showed work in several Paris salons. [6] Kuroda also received guidance from Pierre Puvis de Chavanne, who influenced Kuroda's later use of the human body to represent abstract concepts. [8]
Kuroda Seki's achievements in Japan
Mastering Western-style painting, Kuroda was eager to try his newfound skills in the landscapes of his homeland. [6] Soon after arriving in Japan, Kuroda traveled to Kyoto for the first time in his life and used outdoor techniques to photograph famous local scenes, such as geisha and ancient temples. [6] Paintings inspired by this journey include Maiko (1893, Tokyo National Museum) and Talk on Ancient Romance (1898, destroyed). [10]
When Kuroda returned to Japan, the most famous society for Western-style painting was the Meiji Society of Fine Arts (Meiji Bijutsukai [ja]), which was under the influence of European academics and the Barbizon School, [6] which was introduced to Japan by Italian artist Antonio Fontanesi at the government-funded School of Fine Arts (Kо̄bu Bijutsu Gakkо̄) beginning in 1876. [11] Kuroda submitted many of his paintings to the annual exhibition of the Meiji Society of Fine Arts, which exhibited nine of his works in 1894. [6] His style of Innovative painting, heavily influenced by the latest European soft-air and Impressionist techniques, shocked Japanese audiences. [6] For example, art critic Takayama Chugyo wrote that anyone who finds this type of painting beautiful must have "low vision". [6] However, many younger artists found Kuroda's innovative style inspiring and flocked to become his students. [12] In particular, Kuroda's style of bright hues emphasizing changes in light and atmosphere was considered revolutionary. Kobayashi Mango, one of Kuroda's students from that time, recalls that when Kuroda returned to Japan, it was as if "those who were groping along a dark and brutal road suddenly realized a single ray of brightness."
In 1894, Yamamoto Hosoi, one of the artists who encouraged Kuroda to study art in France, handed control of the art school he founded, Seikо̄kan (生巧館), to Kuroda, who inherited all of Yamamoto's students. [1] Kuroda renamed the school Tenshin Dо̄jо̄ (天 心) and reshaped its pedagogy to focus on Western principles and aerial painting. [1]