Tokyo Blues...

So, I finally went to Japan. It was a rush and it was something I will never forget. What I remember most clearly is the people, not the grand architecture or the sushi, wasabi or any fish that can fit any japanese dish. They where so humble and so akin to fit the rush of the day that I felt out of place and out of time. And who can blame me, I come from a rural city where culture is a speck in the dust. There, it was apart of everything, and when write everything, I mean just that.

I had a hard time to fathom the vastness of the city, Tokyo is by any means, one of the biggest cities in the world. I kept looking for some sign of antiquity, there was places and parks where the old city Edo whispered to me, but I could not hear its voice clearly as I would have wanted. I did follow a trail that led me to Ueno park, and there I found a piece of history that I have come to adore.

At The National Museum Of Western Art I was very fortunate to stumble upon a great exhibition which had works loaned from the Louvre; I quote:

"This exhibition features 17th century European painting; but rather than dividing the works by national boundaries, as is customary, instead these paintings will be divided into three major themes, thus giving viewers an opportunity to enjoy a lateral cross-comparison of the paintings created in Europe during this period. These three themes are The Golden Age and its Shadow, Great Oceangoing Ships and Scientific Revolution, and Relics of Classical Civilization in a Century of Saints. The exhibition will feature important works by such major masters in the Louvre collection as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Poussin, Claude Lorraine, La Tour, Domenichino, Guercino, Velasquez, and Murillo..."

Of course this exhibition was a success, I loved the old masterpieces, especially taking a close look at Vermeer and Rubens, but on the second floor, in their permanent exhibithall I found Delacroix thanks to Matsukata Kojiro (1865-1950). He was was the president of Kawasaki Dockyard and invested his own personal fortune in the acquisition of several thousand examples of Western paintings, sculptures and decorative arts. He collected these works throughout Europe, but primarily in Paris, and I guess it must have been there where he saw Delacroix' "The Education Of The Virgin."

This small painting from 1852 is marvellous in its simplicity. It has all the romantic "mannerism" we've become accustomed when looking at Delacroix art. The subject is not as actionpacked as his lionhunts, but portrays a restrained passion which I somehow immediatly associate with his person. A lovely painting which I would hope to see again someday...

Now, I am trying to plan a new trip to Paris this year, just recently I missed an exhibit at the Delacroix museum where the emphasis was on Delacroix' use of photography in his sketching. I am certain this is an area of his art that people are interested of. In my book I have not written anything on the subject because I feel it is to modern. I love to think of Delacroix' art in the romantic way, that he did not use the help of modernity in his work, but hey, I use it myself, I wonder what he would think of my art? Hmm...

Now I am back again on the last third part of my book, exploring the reasons why his uncle Riesener went to Russia for seven years and how it affected him...