Okada Saburōsuke (Japanese: 岡田三郎助; 12 January 1869,

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

– 23 September 1939,

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 ...

) was a Japanese painter in the

Yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingu ...

style and a professor at the "Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō" (School of Fine Arts); precursor of the

Tokyo University of the Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

Biography

His parents were

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

s of the samurai

Nabeshima clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nabeshima", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p.38 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The clan controlled Saga Do ...

.Brief biography
@ the Lavenberg Collection. He attended a school that taught western-style painting, under the tutelage of

Soyama Sachihiko was a Japanese painter of the ''yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in the Meiji (era), Meiji era. The characters of his given name may also be read Yukihiko; later he was known as . Biography Born in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima, he studied ...

(曽山幸彦).Brief biography
@ Floating World Gallery. In 1891, he became a member of the "Meiji Bijutsu-kai" (Fine Arts Society) and, after Soyama's premature death, worked with (堀江正章, 1852–1932), completing his studies in 1893. That same year, he came under the influence of

Kuroda Seiki Viscount was a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the ''yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in late 19th and early 20th-century Japanese pai ...

(黒田清輝} and Kume Keiichiro (久米桂一郎), who had just returned from France. They introduced him the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...

and the concept of

plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

painting. In 1896, he became an Assistant Professor of Yōga art at the Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō. He was also one of the founding members of "Hakuba-kai" (White Horse Society); a loosely organized artists' association, supposedly named after their favorite type of

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

. Later, the Ministry of Culture awarded him a stipend to study in France, where he worked with

Raphaël Collin Louis-Joseph-Raphaël Collin (17 June 1850 – 21 October 1916) was a French painter born and raised in Paris, where he became a prominent academic painter and a teacher. He is principally known for the links he created between French and Japa ...

. When he returned in 1902, he was named a full professor. Shortly after, he married the daughter of playwright Osanai Kaoru (小山内薫). After 1907, he served as a juror for the annual art exhibition held by the Ministry (the "Mombushō Tenrankai"). In 1912, he and

Fujishima Takeji was a Japanese people, Japanese painter, noted for his work in developing Romanticism and impressionism within the ''yoga (art), yōga'' (Western-style) art movement in late 19th- and early 20th-century Japanese painting. In his later years, he ...

(藤島武二) founded the "Hongo Institute for Western Painting". Seven years later, he was elected a member of the "Teikoku Bijutsu-in" (

Imperial Academy of Fine Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

) and was awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

. In 1930, the Ministry of Culture sent him to Europe to speak with Hasegawa Kiyoshi and explore the possibility of staging an exhibition of modern Japanese art. Four years later, he was appointed an

Imperial Household Artist An was an artist who was officially appointed by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan to create works of art for the Tokyo Imperial Palace and other imperial residences. History The system came into being during the Meiji period in 1890 and ...

. In 1937, Okada received the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...

., the highest honor in the Japanese cultural world. Overall, his art career showed an unusually smooth progression. Okada's painting subjects included both landscapes and portraits, and he was especially good at painting portraits of women. Under his brush, women were portrayed with warm skin textures, elegant features, and delicate traits. In 1907 he won the first prize of the Tokyo Industrial Exhibition for "Image of a Woman (Purple tone)". Later, he exhibited "Women in Red", "Japanese Bush Clover", and the "Portrait of Marquess Ookuma's Wife", establishing his reputation in painting portraits of women.

Selected paintings

File:Okada Saburosuke - Portrait of a Lady - Google Art Project.jpg, Portrait of a Lady File:Okada Saburosuke - Portrait of Jiro Okabe.jpg, Portrait of Jirō Okabe (Conservative politician,
1864-1925) File:Okada Saburosuke - Kimono with Iris Pattern.jpg, Kimono with Iris Pattern File:Okada Saburosuke - Portrait of an old man.jpg, Portrait of an Old Man

References

External links

ArtNet: More paintings by Okada.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okada, Saburosuke 1869 births 1939 deaths 19th-century Japanese painters Yōga painters Recipients of the Order of Culture Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure People from Saga (city) 20th-century Japanese painters Imperial household artists 19th-century male artists 20th-century male artists Artists from Saga Prefecture

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links