Studio: international art (77.1919)

STUDIO-TALK

“ THE MOUTH OF A RIVER
BY TAKENOUCHI-SEIHO

TOKYO. — The Twelfth Annual
Mombusho Art Exhibition, which
was recently held in Tokyo and Kyoto,
contained a large number of representative
works by the contemporary artists of
Japan, but nothing startling was in evi-
dence because the young and aggressive
elements have revolted and formed societies
for themselves, such as the Bijutsu-in,
primarily for painters in the Japanese
style, the Nika-kai for painters in oil after
the European style, and the Kokuga Sosaku
Kyokai (Association for Original National
Paintings). The members of these societies
refuse to contribute to the official Mom-
busho exhibitions, but in spite of these
dissensions, the “ Bunten,” as the Govern-
ment art exhibition is called for short
(being under the auspices of the Depart-
ment of Education), remains the most
popular art exhibition in Japan. My pur-
pose here is to review briefly some of the
principal works in the section comprising

paintings in the Japanese style, and to note
some of the tendencies manifested. a
Among a large number of landscapes,
the Mouth of a River, by Takenouchi-
Seiho, stood pre-eminent. This work is
thoroughly Japanese in feeling, and indeed
some critics see in it the perfection of the
Japanese style of painting. In this land-
scape, highly impressionistic in concep-
tion, Seiho has succeeded in eliminating
all non-essentials, leaving a large area of
blank space which gives depth and expanse.
In it the representative and decorative
functions of art seem to have been well
harmonized. Prominent also was a set
of three landscapes, Three Scenes in the
Mountains in Summer, by Yuki-Somei, who
in his treatment of widely different sub-
jects has shown his resourcefulness and
originality. Commendable also was a set
of mountain views, Four Scenes of Yat-
sugatake, by Tanaka-Raisho, who has
steadily pushed himself to the front in

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