Puppet Theater

This work, a genre painting depicting a scene of people gathering to watch a puppet theater show, is said to be the first true group portrayal in Japan. It is known as a representative work of Yoshimatsu’s European period.

Goseda Yoshimatsu, the second son of Goseda Horyu, studied under Charles Wirgman in Yokohama and then enrolled in the Kobu Bijutsu Gakko (Technical Art School) in 1876, but resigned the following year. In 1880, he moved to Paris, where he received instruction from Léon Bonnat (1833-1922). Goseda was one of the first Japanese artists to go abroad for the express purpose of studying oil painting. Although this work has unpainted areas remaining, for example, at the bottom right, and is therefore unfinished, it is signed and dated 1883. The puppet theater stage is shown at the back of the scene, placed parallel to the picture plane, and the group of figures is arranged before it. People sitting in chairs in front of the stage to watch the play are shown from behind, while around them, men and women, old and young, are depicted in various poses. The old woman and child in the lower right corner are believed to be the same models Goseda used in the work that was accepted for exhibition in the Salon of the same year, Doll’s clothing (private collection; Takashina Shuji, editor, Edo kara Meiji e [From Edo to Meiji], Kodansha, 1991, fig. 28). Additionally, there are several preparatory drawings for this work in the collection of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum. This work was purchased on December 12, 1907 from the artist himself. (Writer : Masako Kawaguchi Source : Selected Masterpieces from The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music: Grand Opening Exhibition, The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 1999)