Works

Between Reality and Unreality

There is a common thread between this trio of works, in that each artist has referenced a painting from the past, incorporating, into the work, what can be described as a clone of the artist, resulting in a space which lies between reality and unreality. Victor Brauner had moved to 2 bis Rue Perrel, where Henri Rousseau had once lived, and this inspired him to have his Conglomeros (a being with a giant head, two bodies, and six arms) appear in Rousseau’s work The Snake Charmer (1907, Musée d’Orsay, Paris). Meanwhile, René Magritte’s work often features a man in a top hat, and in this work he has superimposed, on top of this image, the flower goddess Flora from Botticelli’s Primavera (c. 1482, Uffizi Gallery, Florence). In the work by Arimoto Toshio, drawn to the early Renaissance frescoes painted by artists such as Piero della Francesca, a classical female figure which is portrayed in numerous works is seated in the center of the painting; although unrealistic it conveys a sense of nostalgia.

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  René Magritte
  The Ready-made Bouquet
  1957, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka

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  Victor Brauner
  The Meeting at 2 bis Rue Perrel
  1946, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
  photo: Paris Musées/Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

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  Arimoto Toshio
  Chamber Music
  1980, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

The Power of Models

Here, models are reclining and adopting bold poses as the mood takes them. The image of reclining women has been a constant in the history of Western painting. In such poses, women were manifestations of ideal beauty but they were also frequently depicted as vulnerable women who are the object of the male gaze. However, Amedeo Modigliani’s nude, in which the subject is staring provocatively at the viewer, Yorozu’s reclining nude beauty who stares at the viewer with scorn, and Henri Matisse’s odalisque, the subject of which seems to be completely unaware that she is being observed, all repel the viewer’s gaze and are imbued with a sense of empowerment, with each woman proud of her beauty.

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  Amedeo Modigliani
  Reclining Nude with Loose Hair
  1917, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka

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  Henri Matisse
  Odalisque with a Chair
  1928, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
  photo: Paris Musées/Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

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  Yorozu Tetsugoro
  Nude Beauty
  1912, National Important Cultural Property, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
  Display period: September 14 – November 22

The Imaginary Garden

Plants cover the entire canvas in each of these works, and in fact all three artists share a deep connection with plants. Raoul Dufy, who lived near a botanical garden, created countless textile designs featuring plant and animal motifs, Tsuji Hisashi, influenced by a father who loved plants, at one stage wanted to become a botanist, and André Bauchant, before becoming an artist, ran a horticultural business before teaching himself to paint. The artists positioned their depictions of favored flowers, fruit, and animals on the canvas in an almost rhythmical fashion as they allowed their imaginations to take full flight, creating a world that can be described as an imaginary garden that only exists in the work. These decorative paintings, filled with flowers and grasses, are imbued with something akin to mysticism, and we can almost smell the flowers and fruit.

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  André Bauchant
  The Fruit Stall
  1950, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka

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  Raoul Dufy
  House and Garden
  1915, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
  photo: Paris Musées / Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

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  Tsuji Hisashi
  Camellias and Kids
  1916, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Artists

Amano Ryuichi, Karel Appel, Arimoto Toshio, Arman (Armand Fernandez, dit), Jean Arp (Hans Arp), Jean-Michel Basquiat, André Bauchant, Maria Blanchard, Umberto Boccioni, Pierre Bonnard, Constantin Brancusi, Brassaï (Gyula Halász, dit), Victor Brauner, Alexander Calder, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Henry Darger, Giorgio De Chirico, Félix Del Marle, Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, Julien Discrit, Dodo Shunji, Robert Doisneau, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, François Dufrêne, Raoul Dufy, Jean Fautrier, Foujita Tsuguharu (Léonard Foujita), Fujishima Takeji, Pablo Gargallo, Hara Katsushiro, Hasekawa Toshiyuki, Hatakeyama Naoya, Hayakawa Yoshio, Idemitsu Mako, Ikeda Yoson, Ikemura Leiko, Ishiuchi Miyako, Kanno Seiko, Kawai Shinzo, Kawakami Ryoka, Kawasaki Kametaro, Kikuhata Mokuma, Kishida Ryusei, Kitadai Syozo, Kitano Tsunetomi, Kitawaki Noboru, Paul Klee, Yves Klein, Koga Harue, Koide Narashige, Koizumi Kishio, Kuramata Shiro, Kusama Yayoi, Marie Laurencin, Fernand Léger, El Lissitzky, Maeda Toshiro, René Magritte, Albert Marquet, Maruki Toshi (Akamatsu Toshiko), Henri Matisse, Matsumoto Shunsuke, Fausto Melotti, Jean Metzinger, Henri Michaux, Migishi Kotaro, Amedeo Modigliani, Momose Aya, Morimura Yasumasa, Jean-Luc Moulène, Murayama Tomoyoshi, Nakanishi Natsuyuki, Nara Yoshitomo, Narahara Ikko, Ogura Yuki, Okamoto Koen, Okamoto Taro, Onchi Koshiro, Pablo Picasso, Serge Poliakoff, Marc Riboud, Germaine Richier, Mark Rothko, Saeki Yuzo, Sahoyama Gyoukai, Sato Masaharu, Shiomi Mieko, Chaïm Soutine, Sugai Kumi, Sugiura Hisui, Takanashi Yutaka, Tanaka Atsuko, Toeko Tatsuno, Togo Seiji, Tomatsu Shomei, Tomii Motohiro, Tomiyama Haruo, Tsuda Yoho, Tsuji Hisashi, Maurice Utrillo, Suzanne Valadon, Xavier Veilhan, Sabine Weiss (Sabine Weber, dite), Yanagihara Yoshitatsu, Yasui Sotaro, Yorozu Tetsugoro, Yoshihara Jiro

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