Hosui Yamamoto

Background

Yamamoto Hosui was born on August 12, 1850 in Gifu, Japan.

Education

Hosui Yamamoto first began practicing painting under Kubota Yukie in Kyoto in 1868, at the age of 18. At that time, he trained in creating traditional-style ink paintings in the literati 'nanga' mode, under the name Umetani.

Then he graduated from the Education Ministry's Fine Arts School, after which he studied Western style painting under Horyu Goseida and under Antonio Fontanesi. Yamamoto then went to Paris for further studies at the school of Fine Arts (1878 - 1887).

Career

Returning to Japan Hosui Yamamoto opened a painting academy, the Seikokan, in Edo (now Tokyo), teaching the French style of the Barbizon school. This was later renamed the Tenshin Dojo. Later his friend and fellow-artist Kuroda Seiki returned to Japan and joined him in teaching there, introducing the techniques of plein-air painting.

In his final years, Yamamoto was an official government painter in the Sino-Japanese (1894-1895 ) and Russo-Japanese (1904-1905 ) wars.

Among his works are Junishi (1892), a cycle of twelve oil paintings in the Western style based on the theme of the signs of the Chinese zodiac (ten of which are extant).

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Portrait of Judith Gautier

  • Painting of female nude

  • Urashima-zu

  • Young girl having a candle

  • painting

  • Gekka no rafu

  • painting

  • Fukuchi Genichirō no shōzō

  • female nude

Connections

Friend:

Kuroda Seiki