The in

Kurashiki is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...

was the first collection of Western art to be permanently exhibited in Japan. The museum opened in 1930 and originally consisted almost entirely of French paintings and sculptures of the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection has now expanded to include paintings of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

and of the Dutch and Flemish 17th century. Well-known American and Italian artists of the 20th century are also included in the collection. The basis of the collection was formed by Ōhara Magosaburō on the advice of the Japanese painter Kojima Torajirō (1881–1929) and the French artist

Edmond Aman-Jean Edmond Aman-Jean (13 January 1858, Chevry-Cossigny – 25 January 1936, Paris) was a French symbolist painter, who co-founded the Salon des Tuileries in 1923. Life His father was the owner and operator of an industrial lime kiln. He had h ...

(1860–1935). In 1961 a wing was added for acquired Japanese paintings of the first half of the 20th century:

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 ...

, Aoki Shigeru,

Kishida Ryūsei is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and ...

, Koide Tarushige and others. In the same year, a wing for potteries of

Kawai Kanjirō was a Japanese potter and a key figure in '' mingei'' (Japanese folk art) and studio pottery movements, which included Bernard Leach, Shōji Hamada, Kenkichi Tomimoto, Shikō Munakata, Keisuke Serizawa, and Tatsuzō Shimaoka, among others ...

Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...

Hamada Shōji A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev des ...

Tomimoto Kenkichi was a Japanese potter and a Living National Treasure. Biography His family came from Nara prefecture. He received a commission to design a large Japanese-lacquered zelkova shelf called “kingin-sai kazari tsubo” for the ''Ume-no-Ma'' au ...

and others was opened. 1963 a wing was added for the woodcuts of

Munakata Shikō Munakata may refer to: *Munakata (surname) *Munakata, Fukuoka, a city in Japan *Munakata Taisha is a collection of three Shinto shrines located in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the head of the approximately 6,000 Munakata shrines a ...

and dyeings of Serisawa Keisuke. Today the last two wings are combined as ''Crafts Wing'' (Kōgei-kan). 1972 the ''Kojima Torajirō Memorial Hall'' was opened at the ''Ivory Square'' of Kurashiki.

Selected collection highlights

File:Camille Pissarro - Apple Picking - Google Art Project.jpg, Camille Pissarro File:Claude Monet - Haystacks - Google Art Project.jpg, Claude Monet File:El GRECO (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) - Annunciation - Google Art Project.jpg, El Greco File:Paul Signac - Canal of Overschie - Google Art Project.jpg, Paul Signac

Selected artists

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes - Fantasy - Google Art Project

* El Greco (''

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

'') *

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French people, French Painting, painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Soci ...

* Camille Pissarro *

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

(''

Water Lilies ''Water Lilies'' (or ''Nymphéas'', ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artisti ...

'') *

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

Giovanni Segantini Giovanni Segantini (15 January 1858 – 28 September 1899) was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by ...

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...

* Amedeo Clemente Modigliani *

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...

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 pain ...

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

Georges Rouault Georges Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris – 13 February 1958) was a French painter, draughtsman and print artist, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born in Paris into a ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

Narashige Koide was a Japanese painter and illustrator, noted for his work in pioneering the Hanshinkan Modernism trend in '' yōga'' (Western-style) portraiture and nude painting in early 20th century Japanese painting. Biography Koide was born in what is no ...

* Yuzo Saeki *

* Ryuzaburo Umehara *

Sōtarō Yasui was a Japanese painter, noted for development of '' yōga'' (Western-style) portraiture in early twentieth-century Japanese painting. Biography Yasui was born to a merchant class household in Kyoto, but dropped out of commercial high school agai ...

Shikō Munakata was a woodblock printmaker active in Shōwa period Japan. He is associated with the '' sōsaku-hanga'' movement and the ''mingei'' (folk art) movement. Munakata was awarded the "Prize of Excellence" at the Second International Print Exhibition ...

Tadanori Yokoo is a Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter. Yokoo’s signature style of psychedelia and pastiche engages a wide span of modern visual and cultural phenomena from Japan and around the world. Career Tadanori Yokoo, bo ...

Access

* Public Transportation Take

Sanyo Shinkansen , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...

Okayama Station is a railway station in Kita-ku, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The station is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Okayama Station is one of the major intersections of railways in the Chūgoku region. All trains conn ...

. Change to Sanyo Line to

Kurashiki Station is a JR West Sanyō Main Line and Hakubi Line railway station located in 1-1 1-chōme, Achi, Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. All Sanyō Main Line and Hakubi Line express and limited express trains stop at this station. The Mizushima C ...

. The museum is about 15-20 min walk.

External links

*
Virtual tour of the Ohara Museum of Art
provided by Google Arts & Culture * Art museums and galleries in Japan Museums in Okayama Prefecture Art museums established in 1930 1930 establishments in Japan Kurashiki {{okayama-geo-stub