Lot Essay
Umehara Ryuzaburo was born in Kyoto, the son of a wealthy silk merchant. He was a student of the Kansai Bijutsuin and in 1906 of Asai Chu (1856-1907), one of the leading yoga artists of the day. In 1908 he made his first journey to Europe where he studied at the Academie Julian in Paris. It was in Paris that he first encountered the work of Renoir and it had an overwhelming effect upon him. He travelled to the south of France to visit the artist at his home in Cagnes-sur-Mer and was soon taken on as a student. It is Renoir's influence that is most apparent in his early work.
Umehara used his time in Europe not only to acquaint himself with the current modern art movements (the influence of the Fauves and Picasso
are evident in his later work) but also to experience the light in France, Spain and Italy. His travels seemed to liberate his painting from its early rigidity and upon his return to Japan, when he held his first one-man show, he was quickly recognized as one of leading artists of the day.
By 1919 Umehara felt that his work had become stale and that he was suffering a creative block. The news of the death of Renoir came as a shock and Umehara immediately traveled to France to express his condolences to the family. He remained in France until 1921 and, returning to Japan, found that his block had vanished.
Umehara's childhood experience of the silk weaving industry of Kyoto, with its rich color and traditional design sense, combined with his knowledge of Renoir and the Fauves, now enabled him to create a distinctive style that bridged Japanese and French Art. Umehara was well aware of his cultural heritage and also of the danger of slavish imitation of the West. His attempts to balance these competing influences are found throughout his work of the 1920's and 1930's and are most successfully resolved after his discovery of China and Taiwan. It is the work of his Peking period (he first visited the city in 1939 and subsequently returned to the city every year until 1943) and the works produced in Japan soon afterwards, that are now considered his greatest, and where we see the most successful merging of European and Japanese traditions. These cityscapes and the Japanese landscapes which followed while he was Professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts between 1944 and 1952, represent a period of astonishing productivity and sustained quality in his work. In 1952 he received the Order of ÿultural Merit and in 1956 he was awarded the Asahi Culture Prize.
Umehara used his time in Europe not only to acquaint himself with the current modern art movements (the influence of the Fauves and Picasso
are evident in his later work) but also to experience the light in France, Spain and Italy. His travels seemed to liberate his painting from its early rigidity and upon his return to Japan, when he held his first one-man show, he was quickly recognized as one of leading artists of the day.
By 1919 Umehara felt that his work had become stale and that he was suffering a creative block. The news of the death of Renoir came as a shock and Umehara immediately traveled to France to express his condolences to the family. He remained in France until 1921 and, returning to Japan, found that his block had vanished.
Umehara's childhood experience of the silk weaving industry of Kyoto, with its rich color and traditional design sense, combined with his knowledge of Renoir and the Fauves, now enabled him to create a distinctive style that bridged Japanese and French Art. Umehara was well aware of his cultural heritage and also of the danger of slavish imitation of the West. His attempts to balance these competing influences are found throughout his work of the 1920's and 1930's and are most successfully resolved after his discovery of China and Taiwan. It is the work of his Peking period (he first visited the city in 1939 and subsequently returned to the city every year until 1943) and the works produced in Japan soon afterwards, that are now considered his greatest, and where we see the most successful merging of European and Japanese traditions. These cityscapes and the Japanese landscapes which followed while he was Professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts between 1944 and 1952, represent a period of astonishing productivity and sustained quality in his work. In 1952 he received the Order of ÿultural Merit and in 1956 he was awarded the Asahi Culture Prize.