Special project commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the war: "Tsuguharu Foujita: Between War and Art - Depicting the Battlefield, Home Front Landscapes, and Everyday Life"
Event Overview
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Exhibition Overview
During World War II, artists traveled to battlefields to conduct research, while also producing numerous war documentary paintings (hereafter referred to as war paintings) depicting the battlefields, soldiers, local landscapes, and life on the home front. These paintings were produced by top artists who were appointed with the aim of boosting morale and promoting the military. These artists were known as war painters, and in 1938 , Fujita joined this group. However, after the war, they faced harsh criticism from their fellow artists.
On October 14, 1945 , physician and Western-style painter Miyata Shigeo submitted an article to the Asahi Shimbun titled "The Integrity of Artists," calling Foujita and other artists who produced war paintings "people who have jumped on the bandwagon of fascism" and arguing that "if they have a conscience as artists," it was time for them to "take disciplinary action." The following year, the Japan Art Association, which was founded with the goal of promoting the democratic development of Japanese art and the creation of new value, named eight artists, including Foujita Tsuguharu, Nakamura Ken'ichi, Tsuruta Goro, and Yokoyama Taikan, as artists for whom it "requested self-restraint." Around the same time, Foujita's friend Uchida Iwao, who was then secretary-general of the Japan Art Association, visited Foujita and delivered a notice requesting that he refrain from activities within the association.
On the other hand, Fujita's argument was as follows : " An artist is a true lover of freedom, and cannot be a militarist. I was not a war instigator, nor did I mistreat prisoners of war." I believe I was simply fulfilling my civic duty, but if I am truly to be tried as a war criminal, I would like to be given at least paper and pencil. " These words reveal Fujita's attitude of facing war paintings as an artist, even as he served in the military as a civic duty. In fact, the many words left behind by Fujita convey his enthusiasm for honing his artistic expression while fulfilling his mission as a war artist at the time.
This exhibition, a special project commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, will introduce various aspects of Fujita's wartime work, including his war paintings. What was Fujita trying to paint as he continued to work at the forefront as a war artist at the time? Using Fujita's words as a guide, we will carefully interpret the many works he produced during the war.
Exhibition Highlights
First-time public works on display
Image of the work: "Transportation Corps" Date of production unknown Ink and watercolor on paper
During the war, Fujita designed the cover designs and frontispieces for "The Wild Eagle of Holonbair" (published in 1941 ) and "The Barshiyagar Grasslands" (published in 1942 ). This exhibition will be the first to show the original drawings, "Airfield" (ink and watercolor on paper, year unknown) and "Transport Corps" (ink and watercolor on paper, year unknown). Also on show for the first time will be "Shell" (watercolor, ink on paper, circa 1942-1944 ), a collaboration with Japanese painter Kenji Yoshioka, who also produced war paintings at the time. What were the thoughts of the two artists when they created this work at the height of the war's severity?
Introducing the diary and works that record Paris during the war
Image of the work: "Paris Ordonnaire " 1940 Oil on canvas
In April 1939 , the year after he became a war painter, Foujita suddenly departed for Paris. However, as the war situation in Paris worsened, he returned to Japan on the Fushimi Maru in July of the following year with fellow painter Takano Sanzo and others. From then on, Foujita focused on creating war paintings. This exhibition will feature works painted during his brief stay in Paris, lasting approximately one year, as well as Foujita's diary of wartime Paris. This work, "Paris: Ordonner " ( 1940 , oil on canvas), depicting Rue Ordonner in Paris, will be on public display at the museum for the first time. Painted in 1940 as the German invasion was imminent, this work offers a glimpse into the quiet of Paris.