1925
Oil on canvas
From Mr. I’s Collection
Maeda Kanji
1896-1930
Born in Tottori Prefecture. Maeda studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His first selections were at the Nika Exhibition and Japan Fine Arts Exhibition in 1921. He went to France to study alongside Satomi Katsuzō, Yuzo Saeki and others. Maeda was awarded a special award at the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition once he returned to Japan. In 1930, he participated in the founding of the elite 1930 Society and also established the Maeda institute of realism in Yushima, Tokyo. He was awarded the Imperial Art Academy Prize in 1929. His solid textures and compositions, and deep blue, reddish-brown and black tones influenced many painters. His unique style of painting in which subjectivity and objectivity are mixed, has been uniquely called subjective realism.