Kishida Ryūsei (1891-1929): Painter of Sublime Imperfection
Aida Yuen Wong
(Assoicate Professor of Fine Arts, Brandeis University)
Thursday, May 28, 6:00 -8:00 PM
Joseph Regenstein Library, Seminar Room 207
Abstract
Kishida Ryūsei (1891-1929), a painter renowned for his unconventional approach to realism, produced an oeuvre that the casual viewer likely finds disturbing. His distorted interpretations of Dürer and Jan van Eyck amounted to what the artist himself called “the Oriental grotesque.” In an age when yōga (Western-style painting) was firmly established on the foundation of French (Post-)Impressionism, Kishida’s dark-toned still lifes and non-idealizing portraiture represented a major departure. In the mundane, the imperfect, and the eery, he saw “internal beauty.” How did Kishida arrive at this perspective? What other sources besides the Northern Renaissance did he draw upon? The talk traces his Asian references, exploring the moment when Japanese modernism was poised to challenge the hegemonic standards of its Western counterpart. Possible connections with the Mingei (Folk-Craft) Movement will be investigated especially.
