was a Japanese painter, noted for his work in developing

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

and Fauvist Expressionism within 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 ...

'' (Western-style) art movement in early twentieth-century

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 ...

Biography

Saeki was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

as the son of a Buddhist priest. He was interested in art from an early age, and imitated the Impressionist style

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 ...

while learning art in middle school. He moved to

Koishikawa is a district of Bunkyo, Tokyo. It consists of five sub-areas, . In Koishikawa are located two well regarded gardens: the Koishikawa Botanical Garden (operated by the University of Tokyo) in Hakusan, and the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Kōra ...

(now part of

Bunkyō is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived th ...

in Tokyo) in 1917 to study art under Takeji Fujishima and enrolled in the western art department of the

Tokyo School of Fine 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, sculp ...

in 1918. He married fellow painter Yoneko Ikeda in 1921. In the summer of 1924, Saeki moved to France with his wife and daughter. He attended the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acadé ...

in Paris, where fellow Japanese painter Katsuzo Satomi introduced him to the Fauvist painter, anarchist and journalist

Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 w ...

, who was strongly critical of his work, and whose comments influenced his later technique. Saeki favored

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

and

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

s of Parisian city scenes, especially the backstreets, bars and buildings in the style of

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (), born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painte ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

. In 1925, two of his works were accepted by the Salon d’Automne. Saeki returned to Japan in 1926 at the urging of his family and formed an artists' society called "1930-nen Kyokai" (Society of the Year 1930) together with Satomi and other artists returning from France. The same year, he also won the Nika prize at the 13th Nikaten, an exhibition held by The Second Society in opposition to the more conservative, government- sponsored

Bunten The is a Japanese art exhibition established in 1907. The exhibition consists of five art faculties: Japanese Style and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art, and Sho (calligraphy). During each exhibition, works of the great masters are ...

exhibition. However, Saeki could not find inspiration in the suburbs of Tokyo, and in August 1927, traveling via the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

, he returned to France. Despite his worsening health, he frequently painted outdoors in inclement weather. His frenetic efforts at depicting the streets of Paris led to a deterioration in the

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

he had long suffered from. By March 1928, he was largely bedridden. He also had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, and died destitute in a mental hospital in the Paris suburbs.

Displays

*An overview of Saeki's life, along with copies of his works, are on display at the recently renovated Yuzo Saeki Atelier Memorial Hall, on the outskirts of Shinjuku-ku (district) in Tokyo.

Selected paintings

YubinHaitatsuFu.jpg, Postman Saeki Yuzo - Church／Alley in Paris - Google Art Project.jpg, Church in Paris Saeki Schuster.jpg, Shoemaker Saeki Yuzo - Garage - Google Art Project.jpg, Garage SaekiYūzō-1927-Terrace of Cafe(Hotel du Maché).png, Cafe Terrace Saeki Restaurant.jpg, Restaurant

References

Brinbaum Phyliss. Glory in a Line: A Life of Foujita—the Artist Caught Between East and West. Faber & Faber (2006). pages 103-106

External links

Yuzo Saeki's World
, official Osaka City Museum web site; richly illustrated
Hiroshima Prefectural Museum
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saeki, Yuzo 1898 births 1928 deaths Japanese expatriates in France Modern painters Tokyo School of Fine Arts alumni Artists from Osaka 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Japanese portrait painters