<b>MADEMOISELLE M</b>Gen&#39;Ichiro Inokumac. 1940$3,000</em>

Details

Inokuma Genichiro was born in Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture. He studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from 1922-1926 under the Western-style painter Fujishima Takeji (1865-1943). Inokuma showed his work from 1927-1934 in the annual Japan National Exhibitions, and in 1935 he became an exhibition judge. A founder of the Shin-Seisaku Kyokai in 1935, he exhibited with this artists' association from 1935-1955, and he taught painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from 1936-1940. Inokuma showed his work at the Salon des Independants in Paris in 1938 and traveled in Europe throughout 1940, making a special trip to visit Matisse in Nice, an artist whom he much admired. Matisse's influence is apparent in Inokuma's work of this period in its simplified means and use of color.

In the 1950s, Inokuma's work, like that of many artists internationally, developed gradually from a form of lyrical representation into pure abstraction. In a progression from the head-on, dynamic cityscapes of the 1960s (as the painting offered here), Inokuma's work of the 1970s moved to a more cerebral and cooler abstraction using the same subject matter. In 1975, for health reasons, Inokuma left the United States and thereafter divided his year between Japan and Hawaii until his passing in 1993.

This work is apparently a study for a larger composition known by the title “Mademoiselle M”, executed in 1940. The larger painting was most likely a commission the artist received during his time in Europe. This smaller work is a careful consideration of the woman’s bust, with particular attention given to her face. The painting’s quick and expressive brushstrokes suggest the study might have been executed while the subject was present. The study’s palate is dark and moody, with a strong presence of blue. It is interesting to note the larger composition is entirely comprised of tones of blue, recalling the early work of Picasso’s blue period. This smaller study provides valuable insight into Inokuma’s artistic process at work.

Connoisseur's Note

Inokuma’s figurative painting is almost unseen in the marketplace. The work is unsigned, as was the artist’s custom for smaller studies. The atypical size of the panel suggests the material originated in Europe and not Japan.