was a Japanese artist, known for her paintings in the

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...

style.

Biography

Hori was born to a scholarly family in Hirakawacho, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, in 1918. In 1940, she graduated from Women's School of Fine Arts (now

Joshibi University of Art and Design (abbreviated "") is a private women's art school in Suginami and Sagamihara in Japan. The mission and aims of Joshibi, developing creative minds, encourages students to contribute to local, national and international societies, female independenc ...

). She trained in

, a traditional

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competitio ...

style. In 1952, she won the

Uemura Shōen was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her ''bijin-ga,'' or paintings of beautiful women, in the ''nihonga'' style, although sh ...

Award, given to outstanding Japanese female painters. In 1960, Hori's husband, a diplomat, died of tuberculosis. Hori decided to travel the world, leaving Japan for the first time and visiting Egypt, Europe, the United States and Mexico. Upon her return to Japan, she moved to the

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

countryside and created works inspired by her travels. The natural world, including flowers and animals, was a theme of her work throughout her career. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Hori created illustrations for magazines and children's books, including a 1971 picture book adaption of Tchaikovsky's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' that won an award at the

Bologna Children's Book Fair The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...

. She also taught painting at

Tama Art University or is a private art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) founded in 1935 ...

. In 1987, she won the Kanagawa Culture Prize. Hori lived in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy, for five years from 1987, setting up a studio there and painting colourful images of the local setting. She continued to travel to countries around the world, including such destinations as the Amazon, Nepal, and Mexico. In 2000, she survived life-threatening aneurysm; she was inspired by this experience to paint microorganisms, as viewed under a microscope. This work appeared in a solo exhibition at Nakajima Art Gallery in

Ginza Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...

, Tokyo. A ceramic piece based on one of her paintings, ''Utopia'', was installed in the lobby of

Fukushima Airport is an airport serving northern and central Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, located in the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima, Sukagawa. The airport is located southeast of Kōriyama Station (Fukushima), Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima, Kōriya ...

in 2014. Hori continued to paint into her final years. The

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

Hayama 260px, Morito Beach is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, on central Honshū, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 32,961 and a population density of 1900 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Since 1894, the Japan ...

showed a retrospective of her work from November 2017 to March 2018; the earliest piece was a self-portrait from 1930, and the most recent piece was ''Red-Flowering Japanese Apricot'', painted in 2016 when Hori was 98 years old. Hori died on February 5, 2019, at a hospital in

Hiratsuka 260px, Hiratsuka City Hall is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hiratsuka is located ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

, at age 100. The Narukawa Art Museum in

Hakone is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views of ...

, home of over 100 of her works, hosted a memorial exhibition from July to November 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hori, Fumiko 1918 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Japanese painters 20th-century Japanese women artists 21st-century Japanese painters 21st-century Japanese women artists Nihonga painters Japanese women illustrators Japanese centenarians Women centenarians

Biography

See also

References