堂本印象／Domoto Insho

堂本印象（1891～1975）は、大正から昭和にかけて京都を拠点に活躍した日本画家です。

京都に生まれた印象は、1910年に京都市立美術工芸学校を卒業したのち、しばらくの間は家計を支えるため西陣織の図案描きに従事していました。しかし、幼い頃から抱いていた画家への志を捨てきれず、1918年に援助を受けて京都市立絵画専門学校（現・京都市立芸術大学）に入学します。翌年には、初出品した日本画「深草」が第1回帝展に入選を果たし、華々しいデビューを飾りました。第3回展では「調鞠図（ちょうきくず）」が特選を、第6回展では「華厳（けごん）」が帝国美術院賞を受賞し、若くして画壇の花形として迎え入れられます。

とりわけ昭和初期は、京都画壇において中心的な役割を担う躍進の時期でした。作品の出品はもちろんのこと、様々な官展の審査員を務めながら、母校の京都市立絵画専門学校の教授として、また私塾東丘社の主宰者としても、後進の育成に尽力しました。さらにこの時期は、仁和寺や東福寺、東寺などの有名寺院の障壁画を描く機会を得て、宗教画家としての才能も大きく花開きました。

印象は極めて多作な作家であり、その作風も多岐にわたります。初期は古典的な題材を採用し、伝統的な日本画を繊細な筆づかいで制作していましたが、戦後は社会的な風俗画によって、再出発を図る日本の美術界に刺激を与えました。さらに作風が変貌を遂げるのは、すでに還暦を過ぎ、画壇の重鎮であった彼がヨーロッパに旅立った1952年以降です。ヨーロッパ各地を訪問するなかで、西洋古典のみならず現代美術の動向にも大いに触発された印象は、帰国後、形態のデフォルメや簡略化に挑み、新しい日本画のかたちを模索しながら、抽象表現の世界へと分け入っていきました。【交響】（1961年）は、印象が挑んできた日本画材による抽象表現の代表作と言えるでしょう。

「伝統を打ち破って新たな芸術の創造を目指すことが真の伝統である」という理念の通り、印象は絵画以外にも彫刻やガラス工芸、染色、陶芸、金工を手がけたほか、京都府立堂本印象美術館の内装から外装を自らデザインしており、幅広い仕事においてその多才ぶりを窺い知ることができます。

Insho Domoto (1891-1975) was a Japanese painter who flourished in Kyoto during the Taisho and Showa periods.

Born in Kyoto, Insho graduated from the Kyoto City Senior High School of Art in 1910. For a while, he worked as a designer for Nishijin textiles to support his family financially. However, unable to abandon his childhood aspiration of becoming a painter, he received support and enrolled in the Kyoto Municipal School of Painting (now Kyoto City University of Arts) in 1918. The following year, his first Japanese painting “Fukakusa” was selected for the 1st Imperial Exhibition, marking a spectacular debut. At the 3rd exhibition, his piece “Chokiku-zu” received special selection, and at the 6th exhibition, “Kegon” was awarded the Imperial Art Academy Prize, establishing him as a rising star in the art world from a young age.

Particularly during the early Showa period, he played a central role in the Kyoto art scene. Not only did he exhibit his works, but he also served as a judge for various official exhibitions. Additionally, he dedicated himself to nurturing younger artists as a professor at his alma mater, the Kyoto Municipal School of Painting, and as the founder of the private school, Tohkyosha. During this period, he also had opportunities to paint murals for famous temples such as Ninna-ji, Tofuku-ji, and To-ji, further showcasing his talent as a religious painter.

Insho was an extremely prolific artist, and his style varied widely. In his early career, he adopted classical themes and created traditional Japanese paintings with delicate brushwork. However, after the war, he stimulated the Japanese art world’s fresh start with socially themed genre paintings. His style underwent further transformation after he turned sixty and embarked on a journey to Europe in 1952. While visiting various places in Europe, he Inspired not only by Western classics but also by contemporary art trends, he experimented with deforming and simplifying forms upon his return, venturing into the world of abstract expressionism. “Symphony” (1961) can be considered one of his representative works of abstract expressionism using traditional Japanese painting materials. True to his philosophy that “breaking tradition to aim for the creation of new art is true tradition”, Insho also worked in sculpture, glass crafts, dyeing, ceramics, and metalwork. He personally designed both the interior and exterior of the Kyoto Prefectural Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, showcasing his versatility in a wide range of fields.