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A Section of Oshima
Island 1907 SAKAMOTO Hanjiro (Fukuoka/1882-Fukuoka/1969) oil on canvas 116.3x73.0cm In the summer of 1906, Sakamoto, then aged 24, took a sketching trip to Izu Oshima with his artist friend MORITA Tsunetomo. This painting is one of the works which ensued as a result of this trip. With a smoking volcano, Mt. Mihara, in the background, the painting depicts a scene full of customs particular to the Izu Oshima region at that time - the tight-sleeved black kimonos and the way of carrying goods on one's head, for example. While the contrast of colors in this painting is relatively subdued, the objects are finely sketched in detail, revealing how the artist had already developed an acute eye for observation and a strong interest in expression. On completing this work, Sakamoto traveled to France in 1921. After three years in Europe, he returned to Japan and his home region of Chikugo where he pursued his own realm of painting in splendor and in isolation from the rest of the art world. |