Page 84 - The Pioneers, November 26, 2016 Hong Kong

My great grandfather Ryuzaburo Umehara
(1888-1986) is a leading figure in the history
of modern Japanese art of the Taisho and
Showa periods. He was known for being a
natural colorist and use of dynamic forms, and
throughout his career, he aspired to create the
‘western oil paintings' painted by the Japanese.
Current work Cannes (Lot 2510) is one of Umehara's
favorite subjects which he revisited many times,
and can be considered as the culmination of
his oeuvre and invention; while the subject is a
French port of Cannes, in this picture, Umehara
applied a number of techniques which presents
the Japanese visuality of the work ; the Japanese
mineral pigment to enhance the freshness and
vividness of the colors as well as the matte quality
seen with the traditional Japanese paintings; the
gold paint to draw the outline of the palm trees
creating a decorative quality of Rimpa school. The
depiction of clouds, which are also seen in series
“Sakurajima” or “Asamayama,” are stylized as one of
the classical patterns and repeated in many other
works by him. One of the techniques Umehara
experimented is also seen here with the outline of
the clouds, which is done by the direct application of
the paint from the paint tube, giving it a unique form The Umehara's exhibition, titled “Bonjour Monsieur
and even a rhythm to the composition. Umehara's
works can be summarized as the encounter of the
East and the West, and tradition and modernity.
Umehara's two masters, Chu Asai (1856-1907) who
taught Umehara basics about oil paintings after his
return from Paris, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-
1919) who gave so much impact and inspiration to
Umehara's works made a path for him to develop
‘Japanese oil paintings.' When Umehara first saw the
Renoir's works at the Musée Luxembourg in Paris,
he was deeply moved and even awe struck. For five
years until he left Paris in 1913, Umehara worked
under Renoir earnestly both in Paris and Cagnes.
Another important aspect to explain about the
characteristics of Umehara's works, is deeply rooted
in his background born as a son to a family which
74 THE PIONEERS 先 鋒 薈 萃
ran a business of dyeing kimono called “Uji-ya” in
Kyoto. Umehara grew up seeing artists draw kimono
designs, such as Korin (1658-1716) pattern or Sotatsu
(unknown) pattern of Rimpa school artists since he
was a child. This environment helped him develop
unmatching sense of esthetics, form and colors.
Umehara's day mostly started like this; he would
wake up at four in the morning and immediately
go into his atelier and sit in front of the canvas,
even when he did not feel like painting. When
he could paint, he would try to create another
work in the afternoon. He repeated this practice
every day particularly when he was able to spend
time in a quieter countryside, where he had no
disturbance and was allowed to paint as much as
he wanted. Umehara thought that a painter should
paint constantly. Since he decided to become an
artist at the age of fifteen, all he wanted to was
to paint, and did not stop painting until he was
satisfied. Like his master Renoir, who continued to
paint with a paint brush reeled around his finger,
even after he started suffering from rheumatism,
Umehara was determined to survive as an artist,
and learned from Renoir what a painter should be.
Renoir: Renoir et Umehara Joie de peintre” at
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo from
October 19th, 2016 to January 9th, 2017, and ABENO
HARUKAS Art Museum in Osaka, from January
24 to March 26 2017 will showcase the Umehara's
path to establish the Japanese oil paintings by a
close study of Renoir's oeuvre. Another exhibition
introducing the development and maturity of
Japanese modern paintings, scheduled at the
Museum of National Taipei University of Education
in Taiwan from October 6th, 2017 to January 7th,
2018 will exhibit a group of works by Umehara.
Ms. Hanako Shimada
An art critic and the great grand-
daughter of Ryuzaburo Umehara