Ono Kōkichi
1927
Oil on canvas
Ono Kōkichi
1909-1930
Born in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Ono suffered from an incurable sickness from childhood. Demonstrating early talents in poetry, writing and painting, he moved to Tokyo in 1925 and studied at the Taiheiyō painting society and the Kawabata School of Painting. In 1928, he received guidance from Satomi Katsuzō and Hayashi Takeshi of the 1930 Society. After being selected at the prestigious Nika Exhibition, he returned to his hometown to recuperate from illness. He continued to create his works until his early death at a Tokyo hospital at the age of twenty. His passionate style of painting and way of life in pursuit of expressionism surprised many painters. His reputation was highly regarded, even more so after his death. This still life is a fine example of his work: vivid and quietly alive, the red lamp seeming to glow from within.