Ryusei Kishida (1891-1929) remains a giant of modern yōga (Western-style Japanese painting), though his idea of "modernism" would mostly have been unrecognizable to his Western counterparts.
While his early painting dealt with Western precedents of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism from the late 19th century, he turned away from what he called the "temptations of Modernism" and sought a superlative realism he found in the art of the Northern European Renaissance (ca. 1325-1600). He subsequently invested this with grotesque elements and melded it with pre-modern Chinese painting.
Charting these turbulences in style is the focus of "The 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Kishida Ryusei" at the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.