Phantom nude woman painting "Sleep" released for the first time in 120 years Works by Kuroda Seiki's master

Phantom nude painting "Sleep" released for the first time in 120 years Works by Kuroda Seiki's master November 14, 6:45

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A work called "Sleep" by a French painter who was a master of Kuroda Seiki, who was active from the Meiji era to the Taisho era and was called the father of modern Western painting, painted a nude woman for the first time in 120 years at an exhibition starting from 14th at a museum in Kanagawa prefecture. It will be published in.

A work completed by Kuroda with reference to "sleep" was also exhibited, and Kuroda brought to Japan an expression of a work depicting a nude woman who was regarded as "Shunga" at that time and was criticized as immoral. You can see how he was trying to be accepted.

"Sleep" is a work by Raphael Collin, a French painter who studied under Kuroda Seiki while studying in France, and depicts a naked woman lying on the meadow.

Since it was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition, its whereabouts became unknown and it was said to be a phantom work, but four years ago, a Japanese curator confirmed its whereabouts in France, and from the 14th, Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. It will be unveiled for the first time in 120 years at an exhibition held at the Pola Museum of Art in France.

At the venue, a work called "Nobe", which Kuroda is said to have drawn with reference to "sleep", is exhibited next to each other so that you can compare the works.

The composition is almost the same, but in "sleep", a white-skinned woman sleeps soundly while showing her side unprotected, giving the impression that she is peeping into a private and intimate space, while "Nobe" A woman with yellowish skin opens her eyes clearly and points her gaze at the flower in her left hand.

From the 19th century to the 20th century, in Japan, paintings depicting female nudes were regarded as "shunga" and criticized as immoral, but it can be read that Kuroda was searching for expressions accepted by Japan. That is.

Naomi Yamabane, curator of the Pola Museum of Art, who planned the exhibition, said, "By comparing the two works, Kuroda does not follow the Western image of the nude as it is, but seeks the conditions of the image of the nude unique to Japan. You can see that we have made many ingenuity. "

This exhibition "Connections" is being held at the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture from November 14th to April 4th next year.

What is Kuroda Seiki?

Kuroda Seiki was a painter who was active from the Meiji era to the Taisho era, and is called the "father of modern Western-style painting" because he established the style of Japanese Western-style painting that incorporates bright sunlight.

After studying abroad in France at the age of 17, he studied Impressionist expressions under Raphaël Collin, and after returning to Japan in 1887, he started an art group and taught at an art school to study the Japanese Western art world. I towed it.

Nude painting controversy with Kuroda

After returning from France in 1897, Kuroda released a series of paintings of nude women in an attempt to root one of the important themes of Western art in Japan.

However, in 1887, "Chosho", which depicts a naked woman dressed in front of a mirror, is criticized as "disturbing customs."

The caricature depicting the Japanese people at the time looking at this work at the exhibition was surprised by an old man who opened his mouth, a boy who sketched enthusiastically, a woman who hides his face, and a man who enthusiastically stares at his butt. The figures of the people who look at it are drawn.

In addition, in the "Nude Woman Statue" depicting a naked woman sitting down, which was announced in 1902, the police covered the lower half of the body with a cloth on the exhibited picture, which caused public opinion. It is called the "incident".

"Nobe", which Kuroda created with reference to his master Raphaël Collin's "Sleep", was an opportunity for such nude women's expressions to be accepted in Japan.

Kuroda's ingenuity seen in "Nobe"

Kuroda Seiki who created "Nobe" with reference to "Sleep" of his teacher Raphael Collin.

Rika Mitani, a specially appointed professor at Joshibi University of Art and Design, who is familiar with art history, says that the comparison of the two works shows evidence that Kuroda has sought to get the expression of nude women accepted in Japan.

The two works have almost the same composition as a naked woman with only her upper body lying on the meadow, but in "sleep", the woman sleeps soundly while showing her side unprotected, creating a private and intimate space. While giving the impression of peeping, "Nobe" has his eyes clearly open and his gaze is directed at the flower in his left hand.

Also, in "Sleep", the "fur" that enhances sensuality with the tactile stimulus often depicted in France is put on the waist, but in "Nobe", the woman puts her right hand on the red cloth around the waist. I am.

Furthermore, in "Sleep", the white skin of Westerners is emphasized, but in "Nobe", yellow and brown are mixed with the skin color, and you can see that you are trying to draw Japanese.

Kuroda dared to refer to paintings that did not depict the lower half of the body, and by giving narrative and lyrical character without emphasizing the body, he established the expression of a nude woman who overcomes the social convention of nakedness = immorality. It means that it may have been.

Professor Mitani said, "The turning point of the change in Japanese nude woman expression can be read by the difference in the work." Sleep "is a very important work in examining modern Japanese Western-style paintings and nude woman expression, and further research will be carried out in the future. I want to expect. "