ArtistKatayama, Nanpu

Artist Years1887-1980

Artist NationalityJapanese

TitleSunset

Yearca. 1950

MediumDrawing > Watercolor

DimensionsComposition: 8 X 6 inches
Sheets: 8 X 8 inches (each)

Accession NumberRC2097

NotesKatayama Nanpū was born in Kumamoto city in 1887. Though he was born in the family of a wealthy merchant, his life had been always overwhelmed by misfortunes. Nanpū’s mother, reputed to be beautiful, was snatched away by a sudden death when Nanpū had not yet reached 1 year old. His father also died when Nanpū was 7 years old. With his father’s death triggering the wane of his family’s fortune, he finally had to quit school and work to help with the family budget at the age of 14 years old while being raised by his grandfather. He had two elder brothers and one younger brother. His family under the extreme poverty due to being in debt, could not help but give up their house, which was followed by the death of his grandfather and his eldest brother when Nanpū was 20 years old. Even after he could stand on his own as a painter, he lost his younger brother at the age of 32 and his second oldest brother at 41. He was destined to have a thin relationship with his immediate family. As for his artwork, he had devoted himself to painting works while earning money for his family under the extreme poverty. It was 1909 when he came to Tōkyō with his senior associates at the age of 23 that his long-time desire of betting his life on a painter in Tokyo finally came true. It was considerably a late starting at the time of the Meiji period when many would-be painters had started to learn at painting schools as early as the age of 10 years old. Okumura Togyū, for example, had already received the ‘santō-shō’ prize in the ‘Tatsumigakai’ exhibition in 1909 when Nanpū just came to Tokyō. At any rate, Katayama Nanpū’s life as a painter had started under such a severe circumstance.

A well-known masterpiece in the early time of his life as a painter is Around the Time of Shimotsuki (November), which was sent to the 7th Bunten exhibition in 1913. Though he had been already awarded a prize at the Tatsumigakai exhibition even under tough circumstances after he came to Tōkyō, until ‘Around the Time of Shimotsuki’ was awarded a prize in the Bunten exhibition for the first time (He won the ‘Nitō-shō’ prize, the highest prize in effect since there were no appropriate works to be awarded the highest ‘Ittō-shō’ prize.), his work had been rejected four times in the former Bunten exhibitions. His work ‘Around the Time of Shimotsuki’ could receive the prize in the Bunten exhibition due to the recommendation by Yokoyama Taikan, one of the judges for the exhibition at that time. The winning of the prize must have been fateful for Nanpū as well as the present Inten exhibition since it had given Nanpū the direct opportunity for him to model himself on Taikan and to involve himself in the Nihon Bijutsuin’s operation in later years.
(source: Shoga Dictionary of Japanese Painters & Calligraphers)