Nymph On A Plate – Ceramic By Masaru Kinouchi (1892–1977)

Brown-glazed clay sculpture—one-of-a-kind piece, circa 1950–60
a few tiny chips on the rim—one firing crack on a leg.


Masaru Kinouchi (1892–1977) studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from 1914 to 1919 in the studio of Fumio Asakura (a student of Rodin). Very soon, he began participating in the Bunten and Teiten exhibitions. In 1921, he left for France to study in Antoine Bourdelle’s studio at the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière. He exhibited at the 1927 Salon des Tuileries and the 1928 Salon d’Automne.
For him, France was a place of self-affirmation but also of exploration. Fascinated by archaic Greek sculpture, he experimented with ceramics in Edmond Lachenal’s studio and developed a passion for the terracotta technique.
He returned to Japan in 1935. In 1938, he held an exhibition of ceramics. After the war, he continued to create tirelessly until 1977. The female nude was one of his favorite subjects, in which the exploration of silhouettes and forms took precedence over details. In his notebooks, he wrote: “Sculpture is not a matter of representation, but of presence. It is not about making something look like something else, but about bringing it to life.”
A certificate and illustrated biography will be provided to the buyer.