Home / Events / New Currents in Modern Beauty: Shoen, Kiyokata, Shinsui, and Yumeji, with a focus on the Baikoan Collection.

Exhibition/event has ended.

New Currents in Modern Beauty: Shoen, Kiyokata, Shinsui, and Yumeji, with a focus on the Baikoan Collection.

Fukuyama Museum of Art

Finished

Artists

Shoen Uemura, Yumeji Takehisa, Seien Shima, Kanpo Yoshikawa, Shouha Ito, Kiyokata Kaburaki, Shuho Yamakawa et al.

Bijinga is one of the major genres in modern Japanese painting. In the ukiyo-e of the Edo period (1603-1868) ukiyo-e, “bijinga" (portraits of beautiful women) were explosively popular along with “yakusha-e" (portraits of actors) and “fukeiga" (landscapes). Ukiyoe bijinga, which were used as bromides for courtesans and geisha, fell into disuse as the modern era progressed, and were replaced by postcards and photographs. On the other hand, even in the modern Japanese art world, which has been westernized since the Meiji period (1868-1912), the human figure was an important motif, and "bijinga," which expressed the universal sense of feminine beauty, shone brightest from the Taisho period to the early Showa period (1926-1989).

The Baiko-an Collection is a collection of outstanding works from this golden age, including works by Uemura Shoen, Kaburaki Kiyokata, Ito Shinsui, and Takehisa Yumeji, who are often mentioned when talking about "beauty paintings," as well as works by Watanabe Shotei and Kono Umelei, who played a pioneering role and works by Shima Seien, Kitano Tsunetomi, and Okamoto Shinso, whose unique painting styles are truly a whopping 100 flowers of charm. The exhibition is filled with a variety of fascinating works.

In addition, several works from the collections of neighboring museums have been added as special exhibits, adding a slightly different nuance to the previous exhibitions of the Baikoan Collection, allowing visitors to enjoy the charm of "beauty paintings. This is the first exhibition of "Bijinga" at the museum in about 28 years since the "Meiji, Taisho, Showa: Masterpieces of Modern Beauty Paintings" exhibition held in 1995, which featured works from the Fukutomi Taro Collection. Visitors can enjoy the world of splendor and elegance of approximately 90 works selected from the museum collection.

Schedule

Apr 8 (Sat) 2023-Jun 4 (Sun) 2023