Suntory Museum of Art "Turbulent Times: Painters of the Meiji Period at the End of the Tokugawa Shogunate"

In the turbulent 19th century, which transitioned from Edo to Meiji, painters who took on the challenge of new expressions while inheriting the tradition of Japan painting were active. This exhibition focuses on the works of painters who painted unique works during the Meiji period at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and painters who underwent transformation.
Painting from the Meiji period at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate is buried between the Edo and Meiji periods (early modern and modern), and is a field that was once neglected. However, in recent years, art history has come to emphasize the connection from Edo to the Meiji period, and the Meiji period at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate is now attracting increasing attention as a time when painters of Tashi Ji worked hard.
In this exhibition, we will introduce unique painters who were active mainly in Edo and Tokyo during the Meiji period at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and approach the charm of their works. As if to illustrate the chaotic world of the Tempo reforms, the arrival of the Black Ships, epidemics, the Ansei earthquake, and the overthrow movement, dramatic and powerful depictions, realistic expressions, and bizarre painting styles were born. In addition, works that add new creativity to Western-style painting methods and traditions that accept the full-scale influx of Western art are also painted. Such characteristics of Bakumatsu paintings were seen until the early Meiji period.
Today's drastic changes in social conditions can also be called "turbulent times." This exhibition is a valuable opportunity to feature works from the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and Meiji period, which still have fresh surprises and strength. Please take a look at the creativity of the painters who lived in turbulent times.

* In order to protect the works, the exhibition will be changed during the exhibition period.