Matsuyama Area - Japan Black Stone - Hidetake Higo 1930-2010 - No. 3

Two assembled sheets - black chalk - signed twice - and dry stamp HH. traces of handling. Dated 1966. Mention at the top right. Born in Nagasaki in 1930 - He studied painting after the war, and only exhibited from 1967. He taught painting at the Yokosuka Municipal School until his retirement. The Matsuoka Museum of Art (Minato, near Tokyo) preserves a collection of his works. Higo sought to mix the spirit of Western painting and a Japanese cultural approach. We find in his works themes such as puppets, angels, sad clowns, wild or urban landscapes. The oils are very textured, with blue and dark tones from which characters emerge in acid tones. Retrospective in 2010 in his hometown, and 2011 Matsuoka MuseumTo understand his work, you must know that he was a member of the “Kokugakai” (association created in 1928) advocating total freedom of expression, and this in a Western style. Kokugakai contributed to introducing renowned Western painters to Japan by organizing annual exhibitions of works such as Matisse, Bonnard, Rodin, Bourdelle, Monet, Renoir, Chagall, Picasso... These exhibitions helped to influence artists in Japan, who until then had very little chance of seeing Western paintings. The motto of Kokugakai is by its founding spirit "free creation". It is considered a general artistic organization that values individual styles. An illustrated note on the artist will be given to the purchaser.