Untitled

Enomoto Chikatoshi 榎本千花俊

1939 · Framed panel; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Enomoto Chikatoshi established himself as one of the great twentieth-century advocates of Nihonga, a school that uses traditional media to portray startling images of modern life as well as historical figures. His paintings of “modern girls” (moga), like this example, show young women dressed in the latest Western-inspired fashions of the day or wearing stylish accessories. Created when Japan was expanding its empire overseas and on the eve of the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the painting attracted attention when it was featured in the prestigious Shin-Bunten (Ministry of Education) national exhibition in 1939. The artist effected a complex interplay of framing and directed gazing; we observe the subject of the painting as she observes the fish, which we may imagine are eyeing her.

Artist

Enomoto Chikatoshi 榎本千花俊

Date

1939

Medium

Framed panel; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Sachiko and Lawrence Goodman Gift, 2019