Ryusei Kishida
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese painter
in Taishō
and Shōwa period
Japan
. He is best known for his realistic yōga
-style portrait
ure, but also for his nihonga
paintings in the 1920s.
district of Tokyo
in 1891 as the son of Kishida Ginkō, a noted journalist who once assisted James Curtis Hepburn
compile his Japanese-English dictionary. Kishida left school in 1908 to study Western-style art under Kuroda Seiki
at his Hakubakai studio. He began exhibiting his works at the government’s annual Bunten exhibition in 1910.
While his earliest works reflect the plein-air style promoted by Kuroda, Kishida later became close friends with Mushanokōji Saneatsu
and his Shirakaba (White Birch Society), through which he was introduced to fauvism
and cubism
. He formed his own artistic circle called Fyūzankai (Fusain Society) in 1912 to help promote the styles of humanism
and post-impressionism
. The group soon collapsed due to internal conflicts after holding two exhibitions, but Kishida created another circle called Sōdosha in 1915. Among his associates in this group was the artist Kōno Michisei.
From around 1917, Kishida relocated his residence to Kugenuma in Fujisawa, Kanagawa
, near the summer home of his friend Mushanokōji. He also began to incorporate the techniques of northern European Renaissance
artists such as Albrecht Dürer
and Van Dyke
into realistic portraiture, but did not directly copy their styles. During this period, he painted his famous series of paintings of his daughter Reiko, which combine photographic realism with almost surreal
decorative elements, which exhibit the tension between expressionism and technique. His famous Kiritōshi no shasei, also painted near this time realistically depicts a path through a hill. However, it is not an actual path that Kishida viewed and painted, but is a “universal scene” which could be set anywhere in the world, at any point in time.
In the early 1920s, Kishida suddenly expressed a new interest for nihonga
, incorporating elements from eastern art, in particular Chinese paintings of the Song
and Yuan dynasties
, as well as early ukiyo-e
paintings. His home in Kugenuma was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and he moved to Kyoto
for a brief period before returning to Kamakura
in February 1926. In the 1920s, he came to be noted as an art historian
as well as a painter, writing numerous articles on Aesthetics and Japanese painting.
In 1929, sponsored by the South Manchuria Railway Company, Kishida made his one and only overseas trip, visiting Dalian
, Fengtian
and Harbin
in Manchuria
. On his way back to Kamakura, he made a stop at Tokuyama, Yamaguchi
, where he died of uremia
at the young age of 38. His grave is at the Tama Reien Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo
. After his death, two of his paintings were designated National Important Cultural Properties
by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs
.
In December 2000, one of his portraits Reiko a shawl on her shoulders was sold for 360 millions Yen, the highest price ever achieved in auction for a Japanese painting.
Japanese painting
is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of...
in Taishō
Taisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...
and Shōwa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is best known for his realistic yōga
Yoga (art)
or literally "Western-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings by Japanese artists that have been made in accordance with Western traditional conventions, techniques and materials...
-style portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
ure, but also for his nihonga
Nihonga
or literally "Japanese-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials...
paintings in the 1920s.
Biography
Kishida was born in the GinzaGinza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
district of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1891 as the son of Kishida Ginkō, a noted journalist who once assisted James Curtis Hepburn
James Curtis Hepburn
James Curtis Hepburn, M.D., LL.D. was a physician who became a Christian missionary. He is known for the Hepburn romanization system for transliteration of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet, which he popularized in his Japanese–English dictionary.- Biography :Hepburn was born in...
compile his Japanese-English dictionary. Kishida left school in 1908 to study Western-style art under Kuroda Seiki
Kuroda Seiki
Viscount was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western theories about art to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the yōga movement in late 19th- and early 20th-century Japanese painting...
at his Hakubakai studio. He began exhibiting his works at the government’s annual Bunten exhibition in 1910.
While his earliest works reflect the plein-air style promoted by Kuroda, Kishida later became close friends with Mushanokōji Saneatsu
Mushanokoji Saneatsu
was the pen name of a Japanese novelist, playwright, poet, artist and philosopher active during the late Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He was also sometimes known as Mushakōji Saneatsu, other pen-names included Musha and Futo-o.-Early life:...
and his Shirakaba (White Birch Society), through which he was introduced to fauvism
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
and cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
. He formed his own artistic circle called Fyūzankai (Fusain Society) in 1912 to help promote the styles of humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and post-impressionism
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
. The group soon collapsed due to internal conflicts after holding two exhibitions, but Kishida created another circle called Sōdosha in 1915. Among his associates in this group was the artist Kōno Michisei.
From around 1917, Kishida relocated his residence to Kugenuma in Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 407,731 and a population density of 5,870 people per km². The total area is 69.51 km²-Geography:...
, near the summer home of his friend Mushanokōji. He also began to incorporate the techniques of northern European Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artists such as Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
and Van Dyke
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
into realistic portraiture, but did not directly copy their styles. During this period, he painted his famous series of paintings of his daughter Reiko, which combine photographic realism with almost surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
decorative elements, which exhibit the tension between expressionism and technique. His famous Kiritōshi no shasei, also painted near this time realistically depicts a path through a hill. However, it is not an actual path that Kishida viewed and painted, but is a “universal scene” which could be set anywhere in the world, at any point in time.
In the early 1920s, Kishida suddenly expressed a new interest for nihonga
Nihonga
or literally "Japanese-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials...
, incorporating elements from eastern art, in particular Chinese paintings of the Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
and Yuan dynasties
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, as well as early ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
paintings. His home in Kugenuma was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and he moved to Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
for a brief period before returning to Kamakura
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
in February 1926. In the 1920s, he came to be noted as an art historian
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
as well as a painter, writing numerous articles on Aesthetics and Japanese painting.
In 1929, sponsored by the South Manchuria Railway Company, Kishida made his one and only overseas trip, visiting Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
, Fengtian
Fengtian
Fengtian is:* The name of an old prefecture under which Shenyang city was administered. Abolished in 1910.* The former name of Liaoning province from 1907 to 1929. Under the Manchukuo regime, the name was revived, but was again abolished in 1945....
and Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. On his way back to Kamakura, he made a stop at Tokuyama, Yamaguchi
Tokuyama, Yamaguchi
was a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.On April 21, 2003 Tokuyama was merged with the city of Shinnan'yō, the town of Kumage, from Kumage District, and the town of Kano, from Tsuno District, to form the new city of Shūnan....
, where he died of uremia
Uremia
Uremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....
at the young age of 38. His grave is at the Tama Reien Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo
Fuchu, Tokyo
is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 255,394 and a population density of 8,700 persons per km². The total area was 29.34 km²...
. After his death, two of his paintings were designated National Important Cultural Properties
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education . It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. As of April 2007, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Tamotsu Aoki....
.
In December 2000, one of his portraits Reiko a shawl on her shoulders was sold for 360 millions Yen, the highest price ever achieved in auction for a Japanese painting.