The Arch of Constantine in Rome

This depiction of the Arch of Constantine in Rome was painted by Matsuoka Hisashi while he was studying in Italy. It is considered his representative work.

Unlike the early Japanese artists who learned oil painting abroad in their spare time while tending to official duties, Matsuoka was one of the following second group of artists who went abroad for the express purpose of studying Western painting. Originally having studied under Kawakami Togai, he enrolled in the Kobu Bijutsu Gakko (Technical Art School) when it was first founded in 1876 and received instruction from Fontanesi. In 1880, he sailed to Rome, where he studied under Cesare Maccari (1840-1919) and in 1883 entered the Fine Arts Academy in Rome, graduating in 1887. The Arch of Constantine in Rome is a work that he did around the time he was studying at a school affiliated with the Fine Arts Academy. The Arch of Constantine is seen from the direction of the outskirts of Rome, and the neighboring Colosseum can just be glimpsed through its central opening. The entire painting has been rendered with a light touch, and while there are some areas left unpainted on the columns of the Arch, its degree of completion is higher than the recently discovered work with the same composition (Matsuoka Hisashi ten [Matsuoka Hisashi exhibition], catalogue of the exhibition, 1989, no. 56). This work was purchased from Nagao Kenkichi on November 19, 1896. (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)