History of Kuroda Memorial Hall
When Kuroda Seiki, often considered the father of modern Western-style painting in Japan, died in 1924, he bequeathed a portion of his estate to be used for the furtherment of art. With this bequest, the Kuroda Memorial Hall was formed in 1928. Within the Hall a room was set aside for the display of works donated by members of Kuroda's family in order to honor his memory. Furthermore, in 1930 the Art Research Institute was established within the same building for the academic study of art and the collection of research materials; this Institute would eventually become the Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties. While the Institute has continued to fulfill its mandate since its foundation, it was moved to a new facility in the year 2000, where it is presently based. It was decided at the same time that the Kuroda Memorial Hall would be located in the former building. As a museum facility designed by Okada Shin'ichiro in the late 1920s, this building was deemed important and has thus been restored to its original appearance. The reopening of the Kuroda Memorial Hall occurred in September 2001. In addition to the original display room, a gallery has been added, allowing for an even greater appreciation of the Hall's collection, which includes 126 oil paintings, 170 drawings, sketchbooks, letters, and so forth.
KURODA Seiki
Not only was Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924) a painter who left a large imprint on modern Japanese art, but he served as an educator and art administrator as well. He is credited in particular for the reform of Western-style painting in Japan during the mid Meiji period (1868-1912), and his influence reached across the entire spectrum of the arts in general. Born in Kagoshima city in Kagoshima prefecture, Kuroda moved to Kyoto at a young age as the adopted son of his uncle Kuroda Kiyotsuna. At age seventeen, he travelled to France in order to study law, but after two years switched to painting and studied under the French painter Louis-Joseph-Raphael Collin. During his nine-year stay in France, Kuroda education was based upon an academic style, and he acquired an Impressionist vision that incorporated bright outdoor light. Returning to Japan in 1893, Kuroda brought with him this representation of outdoor light which had until then not been known in Japan. Along with the liberal spirit and philosophy of which it was a part, this style proved to be highly influential. In 1896 Kuroda formed the artistic group known as the White Horse Society, and also became an instructor in the Western-style painting department of the Tokyo Art School. From then on Kuroda would go on to foster a great deal of new talent at these two institutions, eventually becoming the central pillar of the art world. In addition, as a painter Kuroda worked towards the fundamental transplantation of Western-style painting to Japan, not only with his "outdoor light" style but also with works based upon his idea of "grand composition," such as Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment, and Tale of Ancient Romance. In his late years, Kuroda was active as an art administrator, serving on the Council of Peers and as the director of the Imperial Art Academy.
Grez-sur-Loing, the Site of Kuroda's Study Abroad
In May of 1888, during his period of study in France, Kuroda was the first Japanese artist to visit the small village of Grez-sur-Loing. Afterwards Kuroda rented a room in the village and painted works that would later be considered among the masterworks of his France period, including Woman Reading (Tokyo National Museum), Portrait of a Woman (Kitchen) (Museum, Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music), A Girl with Red Hair (Kuroda Memorial Hall), and so forth. This village, along with Paris, was a site that greatly stimulated Kuroda's development as a painter. Grez-sur-Loing is located roughly sixty kilometers southeast of Paris and approximately twelve kilometers southwest of Fontainbleau. The Loing River is a tributary of the Seine River, and even today the scenery around it resembles that of a century ago. In memory of Kuroda's stay there, Grey-sur-Loing named one of its streets "rue de Kuroda Seiki" in October of 2001.
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