瑛九／Eikyu

瑛九（1911～1960、本名・杉田秀夫）は、油絵、版画、写真と幅広いジャンルを横断しながら前衛的な活動を展開した、早世の画家です。

宮崎県に生まれた瑛九は、1925年に旧制県立宮崎中学校を中退すると、上京して日本美術学校に入学しました。そして10代半ばという若さで、美術雑誌の『アトリエ』や『みずゑ』に批評を投稿するようになるとともに、油絵や写真などの創作活動を開始します。1936年には、印画紙を使って制作したフォト・デッサン作品集『眠りの理由』を刊行し、鮮烈なデビューを飾りました。瑛九の名前を用いるようになったのもこの頃からです。戦後はエッチングやリトグラフといった版画の分野にも取り組み、独自の幻想世界を確立していきました。その後、1960年に夭折するまで実験的な制作を重ねた瑛九の作風は、めまぐるしい変貌を遂げます。西洋画の影響を色濃く残すものから、晩年の点描による抽象表現など、その多様な表現の数々から、芸術に対する彼の飽くなき探究心を窺い知ることができます。

シュルレアリスムやキュビスム、印象派といった当時の最先端の芸術を学び、国内外の文学や思想にも通じていた瑛九は、それらを取り込み咀嚼したうえで、自分なりの表現を生涯かけて追求しました。そんな彼は、芸術家としての作品や真摯な制作姿勢のみならず、優れた理論家としての知見や思想でも、同時代の若手作家や芸術運動に強い影響を与えています。たとえば、1937年には自由美術家協会の創設に参加し、戦後の1951年には自らが中心となってデモクラート美術家協会を設立し、既存の画壇や公募団体に縛られず、自由と独立の精神をもって創作することの意義を主張しました。とりわけ、関西在住の作家が多数参加した後者は、活動期間こそ短いものの関西の戦後美術史に重要な足跡を残しており、その中核を担っていた瑛九の功績もまた見逃せません。

Eikyu (1911-1960, real name: Hideo Sugita) was a painter who died young, who pursued avant-garde activities spanning across oil painting, printmaking, and photography.

Born in Miyazaki Prefecture, Eikyu dropped out of the former Miyazaki Prefectural Miyazaki Junior High School in 1925 and moved to Tokyo to enroll in the Japan Art School. At the young age of his mid-teens, he began contributing critiques to art magazines such as “Atelier” and “Mizue”, while also starting creative activities such as oil painting and photography. In 1936, he published a collection of photo-drawing works made using printing paper titled “Reasons for Sleep”, marking a brilliant debut. It was around this time that he began using the name Eikyu. After the war, he also ventured into the field of printmaking such as etching and lithography, establishing his own fantastical world. Until his unfortunate passing in 1960, his style underwent rapid transformations through his experimental creations. From works strongly influenced by Western painting to abstract expressions through pointillism in his later years, his incessant quest for art can be glimpsed from his diverse range of expressions.

Having studied avant-garde art movements of the time such as Surrealism, Cubism, and Impressionism, and being well-versed in literature and philosophy both domestically and internationally, Eikyu incorporated and digested these influences to pursue his own expression throughout his life. Not only through his works as an artist and his earnest approach to creation but also through his insightful theories and philosophies, he strongly influenced young artists and art movements of his time as an accomplished theorist. For instance, in 1937, he participated in the establishment of the Free Artists Association, and in 1951, after the war, he founded the Democratic Artists Association, advocating for the significance of creating with the spirit of freedom and independence, free from the constraints of existing art circles and juried groups. Especially the latter, which involved many writers residing in the Kansai region, despite its short duration, left significant footprints in the post-war art history of Kansai, and the contributions of Eikyu, who played a central role, should not be overlooked.

作品名：無題

サイズ：27×24cm（色紙に水彩）

価格：SOLD OUT

価格は税抜き表示です

参考文献リスト