The Three Philosophers

Prompt: Explain the Interpretations of this artwork, The Three Philosophers.

Various interpretations about Giorgione's picture have been proposed. The Three Philosophers — the old man, the Arab figure, and the young man — could depict the transmission of knowledge, the Transmission of the Classics from the ancient Greeks philosophy through the Arab translations, that became actual again around the Italian Renaissance. The old man is representing a Greek philosopher, such as Plato or Aristotle, whose writings have been copied and transmitted through the Arab philosophers to the Italian Renaissance. The Arab philosopher is possibly representing the polyhistor Avicenna or Averroes, both Arab philosophers and Arab scientists from the Islamic Golden Age.The young man could be seen as the new Renaissance science with roots in the past, looking into the empty darkness of the cave, symbolizing the yet undiscovered secrets. The cave might also symbolize the philosophic concept of Plato's Cave. "The emphasis on light and darkness in relation to philosophy has suggested one of the most credible interpretations of the painting, originally proposed by [Peter] Meller, who argues that it represents the education of philosophers, as described in book 7 of Plato's Republic, whose famous allegory concerns the cave, the sun, and the dividing of the line".New hypotheses about the figures, their identities and the symbolism are still currently advanced. In a note about the picture G. C. Williamsom, early in the 20th century, stated that "It represents Evander and his son Pallas showing to Aeneas the future site of Rome".  The possibility that the three men are King Solomon, Hiram I, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff has been advanced by Neil K. MacLennan and Ross S. Kilpatrick.It has been suggested that the figure of the young man can be inscribed neatly in a right-angled triangle for which the Pythagorean theorem applies. Karin Zeleny, relying on a reading of Polydore Vergil has proposed that the philosophers are the teachers of Pythagoras – Pherecydes of Syros and Thales. Thales has been painted as a Jew, while Pherecydes was mistakenly believed to be a Syrian. This interpretation was modified by Frank Keim who claimed that the older philosopher is in fact Aristarchus of SamosOther scholars have asserted that the figures are typical representations for three stages of humanity (youth, middle and old age), three epochs of European civilization (Antiquity, Middle Age, Renaissance), the three Abrahamic religions or some combination of such general conceptions.Augusto Gentili proposed that the picture illustrates the waiting for the Antichrist, based on conjunctionist astrology. On the sheet held by the oldest philosopher the word "eclipsis" and an astronomical diagram can be seen. The great conjunction of 1503 and the eclipse the same year were believed to be signs announcing its coming.James Panero writes that, in interpreting The Three Philosophers, he is "partial to the poetic approach proposed by art historian Tom Nichols in his book Giorgione’s Ambiguity, in which he suggests that our interpretation is meant to remain free-floating and open-ended. Deliberate ambiguities, he writes, are Giorgione’s 'visual traps set to capture the viewer's curiosity and speculation.'"

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: How does The Three Philosophers explain its Interpretations?

Various interpretations about Giorgione's picture have been proposed. The Three Philosophers — the old man, the Arab figure, and the young man — could depict the transmission of knowledge, the Transmission of the Classics from the ancient Greeks philosophy through the Arab translations, that became actual again around the Italian Renaissance. The old man is representing a Greek philosopher, such as Plato or Aristotle, whose writings have been copied and transmitted through the Arab philosophers to the Italian Renaissance. The Arab philosopher is possibly representing the polyhistor Avicenna or Averroes, both Arab philosophers and Arab scientists from the Islamic Golden Age.The young man could be seen as the new Renaissance science with roots in the past, looking into the empty darkness of the cave, symbolizing the yet undiscovered secrets. The cave might also symbolize the philosophic concept of Plato's Cave. "The emphasis on light and darkness in relation to philosophy has suggested one of the most credible interpretations of the painting, originally proposed by [Peter] Meller, who argues that it represents the education of philosophers, as described in book 7 of Plato's Republic, whose famous allegory concerns the cave, the sun, and the dividing of the line".New hypotheses about the figures, their identities and the symbolism are still currently advanced. In a note about the picture G. C. Williamsom, early in the 20th century, stated that "It represents Evander and his son Pallas showing to Aeneas the future site of Rome".  The possibility that the three men are King Solomon, Hiram I, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff has been advanced by Neil K. MacLennan and Ross S. Kilpatrick.It has been suggested that the figure of the young man can be inscribed neatly in a right-angled triangle for which the Pythagorean theorem applies. Karin Zeleny, relying on a reading of Polydore Vergil has proposed that the philosophers are the teachers of Pythagoras – Pherecydes of Syros and Thales. Thales has been painted as a Jew, while Pherecydes was mistakenly believed to be a Syrian. This interpretation was modified by Frank Keim who claimed that the older philosopher is in fact Aristarchus of SamosOther scholars have asserted that the figures are typical representations for three stages of humanity (youth, middle and old age), three epochs of European civilization (Antiquity, Middle Age, Renaissance), the three Abrahamic religions or some combination of such general conceptions.Augusto Gentili proposed that the picture illustrates the waiting for the Antichrist, based on conjunctionist astrology. On the sheet held by the oldest philosopher the word "eclipsis" and an astronomical diagram can be seen. The great conjunction of 1503 and the eclipse the same year were believed to be signs announcing its coming.James Panero writes that, in interpreting The Three Philosophers, he is "partial to the poetic approach proposed by art historian Tom Nichols in his book Giorgione’s Ambiguity, in which he suggests that our interpretation is meant to remain free-floating and open-ended. Deliberate ambiguities, he writes, are Giorgione’s 'visual traps set to capture the viewer's curiosity and speculation.'"

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: In The Three Philosophers, how is the Interpretations discussed?

Various interpretations about Giorgione's picture have been proposed. The Three Philosophers — the old man, the Arab figure, and the young man — could depict the transmission of knowledge, the Transmission of the Classics from the ancient Greeks philosophy through the Arab translations, that became actual again around the Italian Renaissance. The old man is representing a Greek philosopher, such as Plato or Aristotle, whose writings have been copied and transmitted through the Arab philosophers to the Italian Renaissance. The Arab philosopher is possibly representing the polyhistor Avicenna or Averroes, both Arab philosophers and Arab scientists from the Islamic Golden Age.The young man could be seen as the new Renaissance science with roots in the past, looking into the empty darkness of the cave, symbolizing the yet undiscovered secrets. The cave might also symbolize the philosophic concept of Plato's Cave. "The emphasis on light and darkness in relation to philosophy has suggested one of the most credible interpretations of the painting, originally proposed by [Peter] Meller, who argues that it represents the education of philosophers, as described in book 7 of Plato's Republic, whose famous allegory concerns the cave, the sun, and the dividing of the line".New hypotheses about the figures, their identities and the symbolism are still currently advanced. In a note about the picture G. C. Williamsom, early in the 20th century, stated that "It represents Evander and his son Pallas showing to Aeneas the future site of Rome".  The possibility that the three men are King Solomon, Hiram I, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff has been advanced by Neil K. MacLennan and Ross S. Kilpatrick.It has been suggested that the figure of the young man can be inscribed neatly in a right-angled triangle for which the Pythagorean theorem applies. Karin Zeleny, relying on a reading of Polydore Vergil has proposed that the philosophers are the teachers of Pythagoras – Pherecydes of Syros and Thales. Thales has been painted as a Jew, while Pherecydes was mistakenly believed to be a Syrian. This interpretation was modified by Frank Keim who claimed that the older philosopher is in fact Aristarchus of SamosOther scholars have asserted that the figures are typical representations for three stages of humanity (youth, middle and old age), three epochs of European civilization (Antiquity, Middle Age, Renaissance), the three Abrahamic religions or some combination of such general conceptions.Augusto Gentili proposed that the picture illustrates the waiting for the Antichrist, based on conjunctionist astrology. On the sheet held by the oldest philosopher the word "eclipsis" and an astronomical diagram can be seen. The great conjunction of 1503 and the eclipse the same year were believed to be signs announcing its coming.James Panero writes that, in interpreting The Three Philosophers, he is "partial to the poetic approach proposed by art historian Tom Nichols in his book Giorgione’s Ambiguity, in which he suggests that our interpretation is meant to remain free-floating and open-ended. Deliberate ambiguities, he writes, are Giorgione’s 'visual traps set to capture the viewer's curiosity and speculation.'"

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: Focus on The Three Philosophers and explain the Theatrum Pictorium.

This painting was documented in David Teniers the Younger's catalog Theatrum Pictorium of the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in 1659 and again in 1673, but the portrait had already gained attention from Teniers' portrayals of the Archduke's art collection: Tenier's copies that he made of the exhibits have long been recognised as a valuable historical resource.This painting is displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. While working on his picture, David Teniers the Younger made tiny separate copies of each and every picture as a study for the final big painting, depicting the duke's collection. It is a small copy that measures 21.5 x 30.9 cm.

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: Explain the Theatrum Pictorium of this artwork, The Three Philosophers.

This painting was documented in David Teniers the Younger's catalog Theatrum Pictorium of the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in 1659 and again in 1673, but the portrait had already gained attention from Teniers' portrayals of the Archduke's art collection: Tenier's copies that he made of the exhibits have long been recognised as a valuable historical resource.This painting is displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. While working on his picture, David Teniers the Younger made tiny separate copies of each and every picture as a study for the final big painting, depicting the duke's collection. It is a small copy that measures 21.5 x 30.9 cm.

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: How does The Three Philosophers explain its Theatrum Pictorium?

This painting was documented in David Teniers the Younger's catalog Theatrum Pictorium of the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in 1659 and again in 1673, but the portrait had already gained attention from Teniers' portrayals of the Archduke's art collection: Tenier's copies that he made of the exhibits have long been recognised as a valuable historical resource.This painting is displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. While working on his picture, David Teniers the Younger made tiny separate copies of each and every picture as a study for the final big painting, depicting the duke's collection. It is a small copy that measures 21.5 x 30.9 cm.

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


The Three Philosophers

Prompt: In The Three Philosophers, how is the Theatrum Pictorium discussed?

This painting was documented in David Teniers the Younger's catalog Theatrum Pictorium of the art collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in 1659 and again in 1673, but the portrait had already gained attention from Teniers' portrayals of the Archduke's art collection: Tenier's copies that he made of the exhibits have long been recognised as a valuable historical resource.This painting is displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. While working on his picture, David Teniers the Younger made tiny separate copies of each and every picture as a study for the final big painting, depicting the duke's collection. It is a small copy that measures 21.5 x 30.9 cm.

Gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels (Petworth)

Category:Paintings in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria

Category:Cultural depictions of philosophers

Category:Paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

''Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and the artist in the archducal picture gallery in Brussels''. The painting shows rather faithfully the original painting as displayed in the dukes collection, high up left corner, by [[David Teniers the Younger

File:David Teniers the Younger - Archduke Leopold William in his Gallery at Brussels - Google Art Project.jpg


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Focus on Uemura Shōen and explain the abstract.

Uemura Shōen  (上村 松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga, or paintings of beautiful women, in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success. Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Explain the abstract of this artwork, Uemura Shōen.

Uemura Shōen  (上村 松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga, or paintings of beautiful women, in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success. Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: How does Uemura Shōen explain its abstract?

Uemura Shōen  (上村 松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga, or paintings of beautiful women, in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success. Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: In Uemura Shōen, how is the abstract discussed?

Uemura Shōen  (上村 松園, April 23, 1875 – August 27, 1949) was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her bijin-ga, or paintings of beautiful women, in the nihonga style, although she produced numerous works on historical themes and traditional subjects. Shōen is considered a major innovator in the bijin-ga genre despite the fact she often still used it to depict the traditional beauty standards of women. Bijin-ga gained criticism during the Taisho era while Shōen worked due to its lack of evolution to reflect the more modern statuses of women in Japan. During bijin-ga's conception in the Tokugawa, or Edo, period, women were regarded as lower class citizens and the genre often reflected this implication onto its female subjects. Within the Taisho era, women had made several advancements into the Japanese workforce, and artistry specifically was becoming more popular outside of pass times for the elite, which opened way for Shōen's success. Shōen received many awards and forms of recognition during her lifetime within Japan, being the first female recipient of the Order of Culture award, as well as being hired as the Imperial Household's official artist, which had previously only employed one other official woman in the position. In 1949 she died of cancer just a year after receiving the Order of Culture Award.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Focus on Uemura Shōen and explain the Biography.

Shōen was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, as the second daughter of a tea merchant. She was born two months after the death of her father and, thus, grew up with her mother and aunts in an all-female household. Her mother's tea shop attracted a refined, cultured clientele for the art of Japanese tea ceremony. As a child at age 12 (1887), Shōen drew pictures and exhibited considerable skill at drawing human figures. By the age of 15 (1890) she was exhibiting her work and winning awards in official art contests as well as commissioning work for private patrons. She became obsessed with the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock print, works of Hokusai. Her mother supported her decision to pursue an artistic career. This was quite unusual for the time, and although Shōen did have successful contemporaries who were female, such as Ito Shoba (1877–1968) and Kajiwara Hisako (1896–1988), women were largely still not part of the Japanese public art scene outside of Tokyo. Among Japan's wedding traditions, specifically among upper-class unions, brides were gifted a konrei chōdo (bridal furnishing set), usually containing art supplies, such as brushes and paints. Provided with the necessary tools, many women pursued painting as an individual and private hobby, out of the public eye and in an amateur setting. Due to most women of the time's lack of formal education in the arts, few made a professional career of painting, regardless of how talented they may be. However, women living in the company of a professional artist, such as their fathers or husbands, had the resources and guidance to hone their skills in the craft, although few of these women became known for their work as an individual away from their educators.Shōen was sent to the Kyoto Prefectural Painting School, where she studied under the Chinese style landscape painter Suzuki Shōnen (1849–1918). She also began studying the Kanō school and Sesshū schools styles of painting. Suzuki was so impressed that he gave her the first kanji of his own pseudonym of "Shōnen" in recognition of her talent. Shōen even allowed her to pursue her desire to paint figurally in his private studio despite the fact that the school's traditional teaching method did not allow students to being figural practice until their later years. This was an exceptional breakthrough for the times; however, for a while her reputation was tainted as she was suspected of a liaison with her teacher, which may have been true. Soon afterwards she gave birth to an illegitimate son (the future painter Uemura Shōkō), whom she raised as a single mother. She later gave birth to a daughter and, likewise, never revealed the name of the father.In 1894, Shōen became a disciple of Kōno Bairei and later of his successor Takeuchi Seihō. She won her first local award in 1898 with a work selected for the Exhibition of New and Old Art ("Shinko Bijutsu Tenrankai" or "Shinkoten") in Kyoto. She won her first national award in 1900 for a painting submitted to an exhibition sponsored by the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin) with the Japan Painting Association (Nihon Kaiga Kyokai). She later focused on producing work for display and sale at the government-sponsored Bunten exhibitions starting from 1907. The purchase of her painting, The Beauty of Four Seasons, by the Duke of Connaught on his visit to Japan, raised her to celebrity status at the mere age of fifteen. Shōen was chosen shortly after by the Japanese government to have her work shown in the Chicago World Exposition of 1893 along with many other prominent artists at the time, all older and mostly from Tokyo in comparison. Shōen painted another version of The Beauty of Four Seasons for the exposition and received an award for the painting.Shōen drew from her artistic training and her personal interest in woodblock prints and older painting styles to develop new techniques and styles of composition with a broad range of subjects. Themes and elements from the traditional Noh drama frequently appeared in her works, but images of beautiful women (bijin-ga) came to dominate her work. Eventually, her work would combine the themes of both Noh and women in a single composition.With all her might, she painted Honō (焔, Flame) in 1918, a painting about female jealousy and eternal love that cemented her reputation. For a while after that, she did not exhibit her work.In 1924, she returned to the art world by exhibiting a painting titled Yōkihi (楊貴妃, the consort Yang Guifei) at the Fourth Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. The painting is now at the Shōhaku Art Museum in Nara.During the 1930s, when Shōen was in her late 50s and early 60s, she began producing very large works. These include Spring and Autumn (1930), Jo-no-mai (1936), and Soshi-arai Komachi (1937). Many of these works, especially Jo-no-mai are now considered her greatest masterpieces. It is believed that the model for Jo-no-mai is Shoen's daughter-in-law portraying a confident and dignified women in a brilliantly colored orange kimono fading into a cloud pattern at the hem.Jo-no-mai and Soshi-arai Komachi were inspired by the Noh theater. (Jo-no-mai is a dance performed in the introduction to a Noh play, and Soshi-arai Komachi is the title of a Noh play about the Heian period poet Ono no Komachi.) Shoen took great inspiration from the female character in noh theater. It is important to note that men performed all the roles in noh theater including the female roles. Despite this Shoen used women models to recreate the poses of her work suggesting something of her views of women. Both paintings are characterized by a strong feeling of majesty, with a large central figure against an empty background. The use of color is carefully planned so that the light surfaces of clothes and other items stand out prominently against the negative space.In 1941, Shōen became the first woman painter in Japan to be invited to join the Imperial Art Academy. She was appointed a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency in 1944.During World War II she supported nationalism in pieces like Late Autumn which depicts a beautiful woman doing her part to help the war. Despite her advanced age, she traveled to the war zone in China at the invitation of the Japanese government for propaganda purposes, to prove to people back home that all was going well. Many of her works from this period, including Twilight (1941), Clear Day (1941), and Late Autumn (1943), depict working women engaged in daily chores, who display a strong sense of vitality. As with her work from the 1930s, Shōen shows a skillful use of negative space, with realistic detail, neat lines, and a calm use of color. As the war situation deteriorated, in February 1945, Shōen was evacuated from Kyoto to the suburbs of Nara.In 1948, she became the first woman to be awarded Japan's prestigious Order of Culture. Her painting Jo no mai was the first painting by a Japanese woman to be rated as an Important Cultural Property by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Explain the Biography of this artwork, Uemura Shōen.

Shōen was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, as the second daughter of a tea merchant. She was born two months after the death of her father and, thus, grew up with her mother and aunts in an all-female household. Her mother's tea shop attracted a refined, cultured clientele for the art of Japanese tea ceremony. As a child at age 12 (1887), Shōen drew pictures and exhibited considerable skill at drawing human figures. By the age of 15 (1890) she was exhibiting her work and winning awards in official art contests as well as commissioning work for private patrons. She became obsessed with the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock print, works of Hokusai. Her mother supported her decision to pursue an artistic career. This was quite unusual for the time, and although Shōen did have successful contemporaries who were female, such as Ito Shoba (1877–1968) and Kajiwara Hisako (1896–1988), women were largely still not part of the Japanese public art scene outside of Tokyo. Among Japan's wedding traditions, specifically among upper-class unions, brides were gifted a konrei chōdo (bridal furnishing set), usually containing art supplies, such as brushes and paints. Provided with the necessary tools, many women pursued painting as an individual and private hobby, out of the public eye and in an amateur setting. Due to most women of the time's lack of formal education in the arts, few made a professional career of painting, regardless of how talented they may be. However, women living in the company of a professional artist, such as their fathers or husbands, had the resources and guidance to hone their skills in the craft, although few of these women became known for their work as an individual away from their educators.Shōen was sent to the Kyoto Prefectural Painting School, where she studied under the Chinese style landscape painter Suzuki Shōnen (1849–1918). She also began studying the Kanō school and Sesshū schools styles of painting. Suzuki was so impressed that he gave her the first kanji of his own pseudonym of "Shōnen" in recognition of her talent. Shōen even allowed her to pursue her desire to paint figurally in his private studio despite the fact that the school's traditional teaching method did not allow students to being figural practice until their later years. This was an exceptional breakthrough for the times; however, for a while her reputation was tainted as she was suspected of a liaison with her teacher, which may have been true. Soon afterwards she gave birth to an illegitimate son (the future painter Uemura Shōkō), whom she raised as a single mother. She later gave birth to a daughter and, likewise, never revealed the name of the father.In 1894, Shōen became a disciple of Kōno Bairei and later of his successor Takeuchi Seihō. She won her first local award in 1898 with a work selected for the Exhibition of New and Old Art ("Shinko Bijutsu Tenrankai" or "Shinkoten") in Kyoto. She won her first national award in 1900 for a painting submitted to an exhibition sponsored by the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin) with the Japan Painting Association (Nihon Kaiga Kyokai). She later focused on producing work for display and sale at the government-sponsored Bunten exhibitions starting from 1907. The purchase of her painting, The Beauty of Four Seasons, by the Duke of Connaught on his visit to Japan, raised her to celebrity status at the mere age of fifteen. Shōen was chosen shortly after by the Japanese government to have her work shown in the Chicago World Exposition of 1893 along with many other prominent artists at the time, all older and mostly from Tokyo in comparison. Shōen painted another version of The Beauty of Four Seasons for the exposition and received an award for the painting.Shōen drew from her artistic training and her personal interest in woodblock prints and older painting styles to develop new techniques and styles of composition with a broad range of subjects. Themes and elements from the traditional Noh drama frequently appeared in her works, but images of beautiful women (bijin-ga) came to dominate her work. Eventually, her work would combine the themes of both Noh and women in a single composition.With all her might, she painted Honō (焔, Flame) in 1918, a painting about female jealousy and eternal love that cemented her reputation. For a while after that, she did not exhibit her work.In 1924, she returned to the art world by exhibiting a painting titled Yōkihi (楊貴妃, the consort Yang Guifei) at the Fourth Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. The painting is now at the Shōhaku Art Museum in Nara.During the 1930s, when Shōen was in her late 50s and early 60s, she began producing very large works. These include Spring and Autumn (1930), Jo-no-mai (1936), and Soshi-arai Komachi (1937). Many of these works, especially Jo-no-mai are now considered her greatest masterpieces. It is believed that the model for Jo-no-mai is Shoen's daughter-in-law portraying a confident and dignified women in a brilliantly colored orange kimono fading into a cloud pattern at the hem.Jo-no-mai and Soshi-arai Komachi were inspired by the Noh theater. (Jo-no-mai is a dance performed in the introduction to a Noh play, and Soshi-arai Komachi is the title of a Noh play about the Heian period poet Ono no Komachi.) Shoen took great inspiration from the female character in noh theater. It is important to note that men performed all the roles in noh theater including the female roles. Despite this Shoen used women models to recreate the poses of her work suggesting something of her views of women. Both paintings are characterized by a strong feeling of majesty, with a large central figure against an empty background. The use of color is carefully planned so that the light surfaces of clothes and other items stand out prominently against the negative space.In 1941, Shōen became the first woman painter in Japan to be invited to join the Imperial Art Academy. She was appointed a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency in 1944.During World War II she supported nationalism in pieces like Late Autumn which depicts a beautiful woman doing her part to help the war. Despite her advanced age, she traveled to the war zone in China at the invitation of the Japanese government for propaganda purposes, to prove to people back home that all was going well. Many of her works from this period, including Twilight (1941), Clear Day (1941), and Late Autumn (1943), depict working women engaged in daily chores, who display a strong sense of vitality. As with her work from the 1930s, Shōen shows a skillful use of negative space, with realistic detail, neat lines, and a calm use of color. As the war situation deteriorated, in February 1945, Shōen was evacuated from Kyoto to the suburbs of Nara.In 1948, she became the first woman to be awarded Japan's prestigious Order of Culture. Her painting Jo no mai was the first painting by a Japanese woman to be rated as an Important Cultural Property by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: How does Uemura Shōen explain its Biography?

Shōen was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, as the second daughter of a tea merchant. She was born two months after the death of her father and, thus, grew up with her mother and aunts in an all-female household. Her mother's tea shop attracted a refined, cultured clientele for the art of Japanese tea ceremony. As a child at age 12 (1887), Shōen drew pictures and exhibited considerable skill at drawing human figures. By the age of 15 (1890) she was exhibiting her work and winning awards in official art contests as well as commissioning work for private patrons. She became obsessed with the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock print, works of Hokusai. Her mother supported her decision to pursue an artistic career. This was quite unusual for the time, and although Shōen did have successful contemporaries who were female, such as Ito Shoba (1877–1968) and Kajiwara Hisako (1896–1988), women were largely still not part of the Japanese public art scene outside of Tokyo. Among Japan's wedding traditions, specifically among upper-class unions, brides were gifted a konrei chōdo (bridal furnishing set), usually containing art supplies, such as brushes and paints. Provided with the necessary tools, many women pursued painting as an individual and private hobby, out of the public eye and in an amateur setting. Due to most women of the time's lack of formal education in the arts, few made a professional career of painting, regardless of how talented they may be. However, women living in the company of a professional artist, such as their fathers or husbands, had the resources and guidance to hone their skills in the craft, although few of these women became known for their work as an individual away from their educators.Shōen was sent to the Kyoto Prefectural Painting School, where she studied under the Chinese style landscape painter Suzuki Shōnen (1849–1918). She also began studying the Kanō school and Sesshū schools styles of painting. Suzuki was so impressed that he gave her the first kanji of his own pseudonym of "Shōnen" in recognition of her talent. Shōen even allowed her to pursue her desire to paint figurally in his private studio despite the fact that the school's traditional teaching method did not allow students to being figural practice until their later years. This was an exceptional breakthrough for the times; however, for a while her reputation was tainted as she was suspected of a liaison with her teacher, which may have been true. Soon afterwards she gave birth to an illegitimate son (the future painter Uemura Shōkō), whom she raised as a single mother. She later gave birth to a daughter and, likewise, never revealed the name of the father.In 1894, Shōen became a disciple of Kōno Bairei and later of his successor Takeuchi Seihō. She won her first local award in 1898 with a work selected for the Exhibition of New and Old Art ("Shinko Bijutsu Tenrankai" or "Shinkoten") in Kyoto. She won her first national award in 1900 for a painting submitted to an exhibition sponsored by the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin) with the Japan Painting Association (Nihon Kaiga Kyokai). She later focused on producing work for display and sale at the government-sponsored Bunten exhibitions starting from 1907. The purchase of her painting, The Beauty of Four Seasons, by the Duke of Connaught on his visit to Japan, raised her to celebrity status at the mere age of fifteen. Shōen was chosen shortly after by the Japanese government to have her work shown in the Chicago World Exposition of 1893 along with many other prominent artists at the time, all older and mostly from Tokyo in comparison. Shōen painted another version of The Beauty of Four Seasons for the exposition and received an award for the painting.Shōen drew from her artistic training and her personal interest in woodblock prints and older painting styles to develop new techniques and styles of composition with a broad range of subjects. Themes and elements from the traditional Noh drama frequently appeared in her works, but images of beautiful women (bijin-ga) came to dominate her work. Eventually, her work would combine the themes of both Noh and women in a single composition.With all her might, she painted Honō (焔, Flame) in 1918, a painting about female jealousy and eternal love that cemented her reputation. For a while after that, she did not exhibit her work.In 1924, she returned to the art world by exhibiting a painting titled Yōkihi (楊貴妃, the consort Yang Guifei) at the Fourth Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. The painting is now at the Shōhaku Art Museum in Nara.During the 1930s, when Shōen was in her late 50s and early 60s, she began producing very large works. These include Spring and Autumn (1930), Jo-no-mai (1936), and Soshi-arai Komachi (1937). Many of these works, especially Jo-no-mai are now considered her greatest masterpieces. It is believed that the model for Jo-no-mai is Shoen's daughter-in-law portraying a confident and dignified women in a brilliantly colored orange kimono fading into a cloud pattern at the hem.Jo-no-mai and Soshi-arai Komachi were inspired by the Noh theater. (Jo-no-mai is a dance performed in the introduction to a Noh play, and Soshi-arai Komachi is the title of a Noh play about the Heian period poet Ono no Komachi.) Shoen took great inspiration from the female character in noh theater. It is important to note that men performed all the roles in noh theater including the female roles. Despite this Shoen used women models to recreate the poses of her work suggesting something of her views of women. Both paintings are characterized by a strong feeling of majesty, with a large central figure against an empty background. The use of color is carefully planned so that the light surfaces of clothes and other items stand out prominently against the negative space.In 1941, Shōen became the first woman painter in Japan to be invited to join the Imperial Art Academy. She was appointed a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency in 1944.During World War II she supported nationalism in pieces like Late Autumn which depicts a beautiful woman doing her part to help the war. Despite her advanced age, she traveled to the war zone in China at the invitation of the Japanese government for propaganda purposes, to prove to people back home that all was going well. Many of her works from this period, including Twilight (1941), Clear Day (1941), and Late Autumn (1943), depict working women engaged in daily chores, who display a strong sense of vitality. As with her work from the 1930s, Shōen shows a skillful use of negative space, with realistic detail, neat lines, and a calm use of color. As the war situation deteriorated, in February 1945, Shōen was evacuated from Kyoto to the suburbs of Nara.In 1948, she became the first woman to be awarded Japan's prestigious Order of Culture. Her painting Jo no mai was the first painting by a Japanese woman to be rated as an Important Cultural Property by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: In Uemura Shōen, how is the Biography discussed?

Shōen was born in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, as the second daughter of a tea merchant. She was born two months after the death of her father and, thus, grew up with her mother and aunts in an all-female household. Her mother's tea shop attracted a refined, cultured clientele for the art of Japanese tea ceremony. As a child at age 12 (1887), Shōen drew pictures and exhibited considerable skill at drawing human figures. By the age of 15 (1890) she was exhibiting her work and winning awards in official art contests as well as commissioning work for private patrons. She became obsessed with the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock print, works of Hokusai. Her mother supported her decision to pursue an artistic career. This was quite unusual for the time, and although Shōen did have successful contemporaries who were female, such as Ito Shoba (1877–1968) and Kajiwara Hisako (1896–1988), women were largely still not part of the Japanese public art scene outside of Tokyo. Among Japan's wedding traditions, specifically among upper-class unions, brides were gifted a konrei chōdo (bridal furnishing set), usually containing art supplies, such as brushes and paints. Provided with the necessary tools, many women pursued painting as an individual and private hobby, out of the public eye and in an amateur setting. Due to most women of the time's lack of formal education in the arts, few made a professional career of painting, regardless of how talented they may be. However, women living in the company of a professional artist, such as their fathers or husbands, had the resources and guidance to hone their skills in the craft, although few of these women became known for their work as an individual away from their educators.Shōen was sent to the Kyoto Prefectural Painting School, where she studied under the Chinese style landscape painter Suzuki Shōnen (1849–1918). She also began studying the Kanō school and Sesshū schools styles of painting. Suzuki was so impressed that he gave her the first kanji of his own pseudonym of "Shōnen" in recognition of her talent. Shōen even allowed her to pursue her desire to paint figurally in his private studio despite the fact that the school's traditional teaching method did not allow students to being figural practice until their later years. This was an exceptional breakthrough for the times; however, for a while her reputation was tainted as she was suspected of a liaison with her teacher, which may have been true. Soon afterwards she gave birth to an illegitimate son (the future painter Uemura Shōkō), whom she raised as a single mother. She later gave birth to a daughter and, likewise, never revealed the name of the father.In 1894, Shōen became a disciple of Kōno Bairei and later of his successor Takeuchi Seihō. She won her first local award in 1898 with a work selected for the Exhibition of New and Old Art ("Shinko Bijutsu Tenrankai" or "Shinkoten") in Kyoto. She won her first national award in 1900 for a painting submitted to an exhibition sponsored by the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin) with the Japan Painting Association (Nihon Kaiga Kyokai). She later focused on producing work for display and sale at the government-sponsored Bunten exhibitions starting from 1907. The purchase of her painting, The Beauty of Four Seasons, by the Duke of Connaught on his visit to Japan, raised her to celebrity status at the mere age of fifteen. Shōen was chosen shortly after by the Japanese government to have her work shown in the Chicago World Exposition of 1893 along with many other prominent artists at the time, all older and mostly from Tokyo in comparison. Shōen painted another version of The Beauty of Four Seasons for the exposition and received an award for the painting.Shōen drew from her artistic training and her personal interest in woodblock prints and older painting styles to develop new techniques and styles of composition with a broad range of subjects. Themes and elements from the traditional Noh drama frequently appeared in her works, but images of beautiful women (bijin-ga) came to dominate her work. Eventually, her work would combine the themes of both Noh and women in a single composition.With all her might, she painted Honō (焔, Flame) in 1918, a painting about female jealousy and eternal love that cemented her reputation. For a while after that, she did not exhibit her work.In 1924, she returned to the art world by exhibiting a painting titled Yōkihi (楊貴妃, the consort Yang Guifei) at the Fourth Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. The painting is now at the Shōhaku Art Museum in Nara.During the 1930s, when Shōen was in her late 50s and early 60s, she began producing very large works. These include Spring and Autumn (1930), Jo-no-mai (1936), and Soshi-arai Komachi (1937). Many of these works, especially Jo-no-mai are now considered her greatest masterpieces. It is believed that the model for Jo-no-mai is Shoen's daughter-in-law portraying a confident and dignified women in a brilliantly colored orange kimono fading into a cloud pattern at the hem.Jo-no-mai and Soshi-arai Komachi were inspired by the Noh theater. (Jo-no-mai is a dance performed in the introduction to a Noh play, and Soshi-arai Komachi is the title of a Noh play about the Heian period poet Ono no Komachi.) Shoen took great inspiration from the female character in noh theater. It is important to note that men performed all the roles in noh theater including the female roles. Despite this Shoen used women models to recreate the poses of her work suggesting something of her views of women. Both paintings are characterized by a strong feeling of majesty, with a large central figure against an empty background. The use of color is carefully planned so that the light surfaces of clothes and other items stand out prominently against the negative space.In 1941, Shōen became the first woman painter in Japan to be invited to join the Imperial Art Academy. She was appointed a court painter to the Imperial Household Agency in 1944.During World War II she supported nationalism in pieces like Late Autumn which depicts a beautiful woman doing her part to help the war. Despite her advanced age, she traveled to the war zone in China at the invitation of the Japanese government for propaganda purposes, to prove to people back home that all was going well. Many of her works from this period, including Twilight (1941), Clear Day (1941), and Late Autumn (1943), depict working women engaged in daily chores, who display a strong sense of vitality. As with her work from the 1930s, Shōen shows a skillful use of negative space, with realistic detail, neat lines, and a calm use of color. As the war situation deteriorated, in February 1945, Shōen was evacuated from Kyoto to the suburbs of Nara.In 1948, she became the first woman to be awarded Japan's prestigious Order of Culture. Her painting Jo no mai was the first painting by a Japanese woman to be rated as an Important Cultural Property by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Focus on Uemura Shōen and explain the Beautiful women.

Despite being known for works of beautiful women bijinga (Ukiyo-e beauty portraits) Shōen reportedly said "Never once did I paint a work with the expectation that it would be a fine work as long as the woman depicted was beautiful. My earnest hope is that all my works are like fragrant jewels, always with a sense of fresh purity, never with even an iota of the vulgar". She is respected for her fight for women's rights in Japan and her achievements as a great artist, not just a female artist. During Shōen's time, Japanese art was experiencing a change in style and influence. Western production of oil paintings became popular for many artists. Shōen, however, stuck to her use of mineral pigments, or iwaenogu, and Japanese-style themes. Her paintings show ordinary women, female characters in noh theater, but the majority of her work shows women out in the elements in their finery. In Women Walking Against a Snowstorm (1911), a dramatic action scene is depicted of a beautiful woman not bending to the elements or the power of the storm. Shōen's work shows the quiet empowerment of women through her subtle portrayal of emotion. Uemura's 1918 work on the theme of jealousy, Honō (焔, Flame), which depicts an ikiryō (living ghost) incarnate in jealousy without compromising dignity, is considered to have raised the standard of nihonga. This work solidified her reputation by overturning the criticism some critics had made of her earlier work, calling her a "faceless doll". This work was directly inspired by Lady Rokujō, who appears in The Tale of Genji and the noh play Aoi no Ue, and was also inspired by Bijin zu (美人図, Beauty), an 18th century painting by Soga Shōhaku now in the collection of the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. Shōen contributed to the change for how the public viewed women's art through her own works.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Explain the Beautiful women of this artwork, Uemura Shōen.

Despite being known for works of beautiful women bijinga (Ukiyo-e beauty portraits) Shōen reportedly said "Never once did I paint a work with the expectation that it would be a fine work as long as the woman depicted was beautiful. My earnest hope is that all my works are like fragrant jewels, always with a sense of fresh purity, never with even an iota of the vulgar". She is respected for her fight for women's rights in Japan and her achievements as a great artist, not just a female artist. During Shōen's time, Japanese art was experiencing a change in style and influence. Western production of oil paintings became popular for many artists. Shōen, however, stuck to her use of mineral pigments, or iwaenogu, and Japanese-style themes. Her paintings show ordinary women, female characters in noh theater, but the majority of her work shows women out in the elements in their finery. In Women Walking Against a Snowstorm (1911), a dramatic action scene is depicted of a beautiful woman not bending to the elements or the power of the storm. Shōen's work shows the quiet empowerment of women through her subtle portrayal of emotion. Uemura's 1918 work on the theme of jealousy, Honō (焔, Flame), which depicts an ikiryō (living ghost) incarnate in jealousy without compromising dignity, is considered to have raised the standard of nihonga. This work solidified her reputation by overturning the criticism some critics had made of her earlier work, calling her a "faceless doll". This work was directly inspired by Lady Rokujō, who appears in The Tale of Genji and the noh play Aoi no Ue, and was also inspired by Bijin zu (美人図, Beauty), an 18th century painting by Soga Shōhaku now in the collection of the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. Shōen contributed to the change for how the public viewed women's art through her own works.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: How does Uemura Shōen explain its Beautiful women?

Despite being known for works of beautiful women bijinga (Ukiyo-e beauty portraits) Shōen reportedly said "Never once did I paint a work with the expectation that it would be a fine work as long as the woman depicted was beautiful. My earnest hope is that all my works are like fragrant jewels, always with a sense of fresh purity, never with even an iota of the vulgar". She is respected for her fight for women's rights in Japan and her achievements as a great artist, not just a female artist. During Shōen's time, Japanese art was experiencing a change in style and influence. Western production of oil paintings became popular for many artists. Shōen, however, stuck to her use of mineral pigments, or iwaenogu, and Japanese-style themes. Her paintings show ordinary women, female characters in noh theater, but the majority of her work shows women out in the elements in their finery. In Women Walking Against a Snowstorm (1911), a dramatic action scene is depicted of a beautiful woman not bending to the elements or the power of the storm. Shōen's work shows the quiet empowerment of women through her subtle portrayal of emotion. Uemura's 1918 work on the theme of jealousy, Honō (焔, Flame), which depicts an ikiryō (living ghost) incarnate in jealousy without compromising dignity, is considered to have raised the standard of nihonga. This work solidified her reputation by overturning the criticism some critics had made of her earlier work, calling her a "faceless doll". This work was directly inspired by Lady Rokujō, who appears in The Tale of Genji and the noh play Aoi no Ue, and was also inspired by Bijin zu (美人図, Beauty), an 18th century painting by Soga Shōhaku now in the collection of the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. Shōen contributed to the change for how the public viewed women's art through her own works.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: In Uemura Shōen, how is the Beautiful women discussed?

Despite being known for works of beautiful women bijinga (Ukiyo-e beauty portraits) Shōen reportedly said "Never once did I paint a work with the expectation that it would be a fine work as long as the woman depicted was beautiful. My earnest hope is that all my works are like fragrant jewels, always with a sense of fresh purity, never with even an iota of the vulgar". She is respected for her fight for women's rights in Japan and her achievements as a great artist, not just a female artist. During Shōen's time, Japanese art was experiencing a change in style and influence. Western production of oil paintings became popular for many artists. Shōen, however, stuck to her use of mineral pigments, or iwaenogu, and Japanese-style themes. Her paintings show ordinary women, female characters in noh theater, but the majority of her work shows women out in the elements in their finery. In Women Walking Against a Snowstorm (1911), a dramatic action scene is depicted of a beautiful woman not bending to the elements or the power of the storm. Shōen's work shows the quiet empowerment of women through her subtle portrayal of emotion. Uemura's 1918 work on the theme of jealousy, Honō (焔, Flame), which depicts an ikiryō (living ghost) incarnate in jealousy without compromising dignity, is considered to have raised the standard of nihonga. This work solidified her reputation by overturning the criticism some critics had made of her earlier work, calling her a "faceless doll". This work was directly inspired by Lady Rokujō, who appears in The Tale of Genji and the noh play Aoi no Ue, and was also inspired by Bijin zu (美人図, Beauty), an 18th century painting by Soga Shōhaku now in the collection of the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. Shōen contributed to the change for how the public viewed women's art through her own works.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Focus on Uemura Shōen and explain the Philately.

Uemura Shōen's works have been selected as the subject of commemorative postage stamps twice by the Japanese government:1965: Jo no mai, to commemorate the 1965 Philatelic Week1980: Mother and Child, as part of the Modern Art SeriesIn 2000, Uemura Shōen herself was the subject of a commemorative postage stamp under the Cultural Leaders Series by Japan Post.In 2017, Shōen's work was featured in Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga, Paintings of Beautiful Women, a two month-long (August 29, 2017 - October 22, 2017) an exhibition organized by Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc. The exhibition featured four sections: Uemura Shōen—Fragrant Beauty, Famous Women from Literature and History, Maiko and Geisha, Beauties Past and Present—Chic Japanese Garb Gorgeous Western Garb. Shōen dominated the selected works in the first section, with additional work being showcased in the second.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: Explain the Philately of this artwork, Uemura Shōen.

Uemura Shōen's works have been selected as the subject of commemorative postage stamps twice by the Japanese government:1965: Jo no mai, to commemorate the 1965 Philatelic Week1980: Mother and Child, as part of the Modern Art SeriesIn 2000, Uemura Shōen herself was the subject of a commemorative postage stamp under the Cultural Leaders Series by Japan Post.In 2017, Shōen's work was featured in Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga, Paintings of Beautiful Women, a two month-long (August 29, 2017 - October 22, 2017) an exhibition organized by Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc. The exhibition featured four sections: Uemura Shōen—Fragrant Beauty, Famous Women from Literature and History, Maiko and Geisha, Beauties Past and Present—Chic Japanese Garb Gorgeous Western Garb. Shōen dominated the selected works in the first section, with additional work being showcased in the second.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: How does Uemura Shōen explain its Philately?

Uemura Shōen's works have been selected as the subject of commemorative postage stamps twice by the Japanese government:1965: Jo no mai, to commemorate the 1965 Philatelic Week1980: Mother and Child, as part of the Modern Art SeriesIn 2000, Uemura Shōen herself was the subject of a commemorative postage stamp under the Cultural Leaders Series by Japan Post.In 2017, Shōen's work was featured in Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga, Paintings of Beautiful Women, a two month-long (August 29, 2017 - October 22, 2017) an exhibition organized by Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc. The exhibition featured four sections: Uemura Shōen—Fragrant Beauty, Famous Women from Literature and History, Maiko and Geisha, Beauties Past and Present—Chic Japanese Garb Gorgeous Western Garb. Shōen dominated the selected works in the first section, with additional work being showcased in the second.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Uemura Shōen

Prompt: In Uemura Shōen, how is the Philately discussed?

Uemura Shōen's works have been selected as the subject of commemorative postage stamps twice by the Japanese government:1965: Jo no mai, to commemorate the 1965 Philatelic Week1980: Mother and Child, as part of the Modern Art SeriesIn 2000, Uemura Shōen herself was the subject of a commemorative postage stamp under the Cultural Leaders Series by Japan Post.In 2017, Shōen's work was featured in Uemura Shōen and Quintessential Bijinga, Paintings of Beautiful Women, a two month-long (August 29, 2017 - October 22, 2017) an exhibition organized by Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc. The exhibition featured four sections: Uemura Shōen—Fragrant Beauty, Famous Women from Literature and History, Maiko and Geisha, Beauties Past and Present—Chic Japanese Garb Gorgeous Western Garb. Shōen dominated the selected works in the first section, with additional work being showcased in the second.

Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture

Category:Kyoto City University of Arts alumni

File:Mother and Child by Uemura Shoen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo).jpg

''Mother and Child'', 1934, Important Cultural Property, [[National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese women artists

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of Grunwald (Matejko) and explain the abstract.

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is one of the most heroic representations of the history of Poland and Lithuania. It is displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw.The painting's main focus is the death scene of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen; another central figure is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. The painting has been both hailed and criticized for its complexity. It is one of Matejko's most recognizable works, and has likely contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald, and its enduring fame in Polish and Lithuanian consciousness.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Explain the abstract of this artwork, Battle of Grunwald (Matejko).

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is one of the most heroic representations of the history of Poland and Lithuania. It is displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw.The painting's main focus is the death scene of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen; another central figure is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. The painting has been both hailed and criticized for its complexity. It is one of Matejko's most recognizable works, and has likely contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald, and its enduring fame in Polish and Lithuanian consciousness.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: How does Battle of Grunwald (Matejko) explain its abstract?

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is one of the most heroic representations of the history of Poland and Lithuania. It is displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw.The painting's main focus is the death scene of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen; another central figure is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. The painting has been both hailed and criticized for its complexity. It is one of Matejko's most recognizable works, and has likely contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald, and its enduring fame in Polish and Lithuanian consciousness.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: In Battle of Grunwald (Matejko), how is the abstract discussed?

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Jan Matejko depicting the Battle of Grunwald and the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The canvas dates to 1878 and is one of the most heroic representations of the history of Poland and Lithuania. It is displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw.The painting's main focus is the death scene of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen; another central figure is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. The painting has been both hailed and criticized for its complexity. It is one of Matejko's most recognizable works, and has likely contributed to the popular image of the battle of Grunwald, and its enduring fame in Polish and Lithuanian consciousness.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of Grunwald (Matejko) and explain the History.

Matejko began collecting materials for the painting in 1871. He started painting the canvas some time in 1872 and finished it in 1878. Soon afterwards, he received a scepter from the council of Kraków in an official ceremony, in recognition of his work and his position as one of the most respected Polish artists. The painting was sold that year to Dawid Rosenblum, a private individual in Warsaw. Displayed in numerous international exhibitions, in 1902 the painting was bought from Rosenblum's heirs by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts (Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych) and displayed in Warsaw.Like many other works, the Battle of Grunwald was hidden by Poles, during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. Together with Prussian Homage, it was one of the two artworks that topped the "most wanted" paintings list made by the Nazis, who engaged in a systematic action of physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture. Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks for it, and several members of the Polish Underground were executed by the Germans when they refused to divulge its location despite interrogation and torture. The painting survived the war years hidden near Lublin.Restored after World War II, since 1949 this oil painting has been on display in the National Museum in Warsaw. In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, who is considered a national hero in that country. By the 2000s, the painting needed restoration. In 2010, the poor condition of the painting prevented its inclusion in a special exhibition at Wawel Castle to mark the 600th anniversary of the battle. The painting was renovated, with the work finished in 2012. After restoration the painting is once again on display at the National Museum.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Explain the History of this artwork, Battle of Grunwald (Matejko).

Matejko began collecting materials for the painting in 1871. He started painting the canvas some time in 1872 and finished it in 1878. Soon afterwards, he received a scepter from the council of Kraków in an official ceremony, in recognition of his work and his position as one of the most respected Polish artists. The painting was sold that year to Dawid Rosenblum, a private individual in Warsaw. Displayed in numerous international exhibitions, in 1902 the painting was bought from Rosenblum's heirs by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts (Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych) and displayed in Warsaw.Like many other works, the Battle of Grunwald was hidden by Poles, during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. Together with Prussian Homage, it was one of the two artworks that topped the "most wanted" paintings list made by the Nazis, who engaged in a systematic action of physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture. Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks for it, and several members of the Polish Underground were executed by the Germans when they refused to divulge its location despite interrogation and torture. The painting survived the war years hidden near Lublin.Restored after World War II, since 1949 this oil painting has been on display in the National Museum in Warsaw. In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, who is considered a national hero in that country. By the 2000s, the painting needed restoration. In 2010, the poor condition of the painting prevented its inclusion in a special exhibition at Wawel Castle to mark the 600th anniversary of the battle. The painting was renovated, with the work finished in 2012. After restoration the painting is once again on display at the National Museum.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: How does Battle of Grunwald (Matejko) explain its History?

Matejko began collecting materials for the painting in 1871. He started painting the canvas some time in 1872 and finished it in 1878. Soon afterwards, he received a scepter from the council of Kraków in an official ceremony, in recognition of his work and his position as one of the most respected Polish artists. The painting was sold that year to Dawid Rosenblum, a private individual in Warsaw. Displayed in numerous international exhibitions, in 1902 the painting was bought from Rosenblum's heirs by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts (Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych) and displayed in Warsaw.Like many other works, the Battle of Grunwald was hidden by Poles, during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. Together with Prussian Homage, it was one of the two artworks that topped the "most wanted" paintings list made by the Nazis, who engaged in a systematic action of physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture. Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks for it, and several members of the Polish Underground were executed by the Germans when they refused to divulge its location despite interrogation and torture. The painting survived the war years hidden near Lublin.Restored after World War II, since 1949 this oil painting has been on display in the National Museum in Warsaw. In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, who is considered a national hero in that country. By the 2000s, the painting needed restoration. In 2010, the poor condition of the painting prevented its inclusion in a special exhibition at Wawel Castle to mark the 600th anniversary of the battle. The painting was renovated, with the work finished in 2012. After restoration the painting is once again on display at the National Museum.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: In Battle of Grunwald (Matejko), how is the History discussed?

Matejko began collecting materials for the painting in 1871. He started painting the canvas some time in 1872 and finished it in 1878. Soon afterwards, he received a scepter from the council of Kraków in an official ceremony, in recognition of his work and his position as one of the most respected Polish artists. The painting was sold that year to Dawid Rosenblum, a private individual in Warsaw. Displayed in numerous international exhibitions, in 1902 the painting was bought from Rosenblum's heirs by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts (Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych) and displayed in Warsaw.Like many other works, the Battle of Grunwald was hidden by Poles, during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. Together with Prussian Homage, it was one of the two artworks that topped the "most wanted" paintings list made by the Nazis, who engaged in a systematic action of physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture. Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks for it, and several members of the Polish Underground were executed by the Germans when they refused to divulge its location despite interrogation and torture. The painting survived the war years hidden near Lublin.Restored after World War II, since 1949 this oil painting has been on display in the National Museum in Warsaw. In 1999 the Battle of Grunwald was loaned to Lithuania, where it garnered a positive reception because it prominently features Vytautas, who is considered a national hero in that country. By the 2000s, the painting needed restoration. In 2010, the poor condition of the painting prevented its inclusion in a special exhibition at Wawel Castle to mark the 600th anniversary of the battle. The painting was renovated, with the work finished in 2012. After restoration the painting is once again on display at the National Museum.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of Grunwald (Matejko) and explain the Composition.

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Matejko that portrays events from the history of Poland and Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the struggles of Eastern European principalities against Teutonic knights in general. In the center of the painting is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. Vytautas holds a more prominent position in the painting than his cousin, Polish king Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila), who is visible in the second plan, mounted, in the top right side. According to Scales and Zimmer, by focusing on Vytautas rather than Jagiełło, Matejko stressed the importance of Lithuania for Poland, and the value of cooperation between the two countries in the Polish–Lithuanian union. Others have noted that this placement likely was influenced by Matejko's reliance on the writings of Jan Długosz, who attributed greater importance to Vytautas than to Jagiełło, who, by some Polish sources, commanded the battle. While Lithuanian sources claim that Vytautas The Great have got the very major role in the battle by actually commanding troops and performing the decisive feigned retreat manoeuvre. In the skies above the carnage, Saint Stanislaus, a patron of Poland, overlooks the fighting.Another central scene depicts the death of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen. Dressed in white Order garb and riding a white horse, von Jungingen is being killed by two anonymous figures, which historian of art Danuta Batorska identifies as "savage looking Lithuanian peasants". One of them wields a Saint Maurice Spear (one of the objects with the claim to be the Spear of Destiny), which according to historian of art Jarosław Krawczyk implies that Matejko saw Jungingen's death as a retribution for taking arms against another Christian ruler. Next to the spearman is an executioner, who symbolizes the punishment Jungingen receives for the Order raids and pillages against the common folk. Those symbolic figures are one of many liberal interpretation that Matejko took with his painting; furthermore, modern scholarship indicates that he died in a cavalry duel, and not at the hands of a peasant.Other notable figures depicted in the painting include:Marcin of Wrocimowice, Polish knight, is holding the Polish banner in the center, next to Vytautas;Zyndram of Maszkowice, another Polish knight, is holding a sword over von Jungingen's head;Mikołaj Skunarowski (also known as Skunaczewski) is another Polish knight, standing  next to Zyndram; after the battle he would be sent with the capture standard to Kraków, as a symbol of victory;Werner von Tettingen, German knight and one of the Teutonic Order's leaders, witnesses his leader's death from the left side of the painting;near von Tettingen, Casimir V, Duke of Pomerania, an ally of the Order, is taken prisoner by the knight Jakub Skarbek z Góry and his squire;at the bottom, Konrad VII the White is taken prisoner, and Kuno von Lichtenstein is dying. Matejko portrayed Konrad as a traitor, whereas German knight von Lichtenstein is shown dying with honor;to the right, Jan Žižka, a Czech ally of Poland, is killing a German knight Heinrich von Schwelborn;next to Žižka, Zawisza Czarny is taking down another German knight;to the right of Zawisza, in a shining steel helmet, is another Polish knight, Domarat Grzymalczyk  of Kobylany, later a castellan of Lublin;German knight Marquard von Salzbach is captured by a wild looking warrior identified as a Tatar or a Cossack;another German knight is clutching von Salzbach's garb, this is Johan von Wenden;future Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen is to the right of the painting as well, escaping to organize the defense of the remains of the Order's territory;behind von Plauen is a figure Matejko identified as Krzysztof, bishop of Lübeck. Modern historians have however failed to associate this figure with any historical person, noting that there was no bishop of this or similar time at contemporary Lübeck;to the right of von Plauen is a Polish knight and dignitary Jan Długosz of Niedzielsk, father of the chronicler Jan Długosz;future cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki is shown as one of Jagiełło's advisers. Near Władysław are also: his relative, Zygmunt Korybut, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown, Mikołaj Trąba, Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia. On the ground under Oleśnicki is the body of the German knight Dippold Kikeritz who tried to charge Jagiełło, but was felled by his entourage.Matejko combined three key parts of the battle into one tableau: an opportunistic attack by German knight Kökeritz on Jagiełło, the death of the Grand Master, and the taking of the Teutonic camp (in the top left corner). Unlike many other paintings of battles, the Battle of Grunwald does not separate the viewer from the action; instead it places him at the center of it. Matejko said he felt like a "possessed man" while he made the painting.Matejko based the painting in part on a description of the battle in Długosz' chronicles, which accounts for several historical inaccuracies. At the same time, he was meticulous about correctly depicting the terrain of the battle, having visited the site of the conflict in 1877.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw


Battle of Grunwald (Matejko)

Prompt: Explain the Composition of this artwork, Battle of Grunwald (Matejko).

The Battle of Grunwald is a painting by Matejko that portrays events from the history of Poland and Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the struggles of Eastern European principalities against Teutonic knights in general. In the center of the painting is the Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas the Great, dressed in red with a raised sword. Vytautas holds a more prominent position in the painting than his cousin, Polish king Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila), who is visible in the second plan, mounted, in the top right side. According to Scales and Zimmer, by focusing on Vytautas rather than Jagiełło, Matejko stressed the importance of Lithuania for Poland, and the value of cooperation between the two countries in the Polish–Lithuanian union. Others have noted that this placement likely was influenced by Matejko's reliance on the writings of Jan Długosz, who attributed greater importance to Vytautas than to Jagiełło, who, by some Polish sources, commanded the battle. While Lithuanian sources claim that Vytautas The Great have got the very major role in the battle by actually commanding troops and performing the decisive feigned retreat manoeuvre. In the skies above the carnage, Saint Stanislaus, a patron of Poland, overlooks the fighting.Another central scene depicts the death of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen. Dressed in white Order garb and riding a white horse, von Jungingen is being killed by two anonymous figures, which historian of art Danuta Batorska identifies as "savage looking Lithuanian peasants". One of them wields a Saint Maurice Spear (one of the objects with the claim to be the Spear of Destiny), which according to historian of art Jarosław Krawczyk implies that Matejko saw Jungingen's death as a retribution for taking arms against another Christian ruler. Next to the spearman is an executioner, who symbolizes the punishment Jungingen receives for the Order raids and pillages against the common folk. Those symbolic figures are one of many liberal interpretation that Matejko took with his painting; furthermore, modern scholarship indicates that he died in a cavalry duel, and not at the hands of a peasant.Other notable figures depicted in the painting include:Marcin of Wrocimowice, Polish knight, is holding the Polish banner in the center, next to Vytautas;Zyndram of Maszkowice, another Polish knight, is holding a sword over von Jungingen's head;Mikołaj Skunarowski (also known as Skunaczewski) is another Polish knight, standing  next to Zyndram; after the battle he would be sent with the capture standard to Kraków, as a symbol of victory;Werner von Tettingen, German knight and one of the Teutonic Order's leaders, witnesses his leader's death from the left side of the painting;near von Tettingen, Casimir V, Duke of Pomerania, an ally of the Order, is taken prisoner by the knight Jakub Skarbek z Góry and his squire;at the bottom, Konrad VII the White is taken prisoner, and Kuno von Lichtenstein is dying. Matejko portrayed Konrad as a traitor, whereas German knight von Lichtenstein is shown dying with honor;to the right, Jan Žižka, a Czech ally of Poland, is killing a German knight Heinrich von Schwelborn;next to Žižka, Zawisza Czarny is taking down another German knight;to the right of Zawisza, in a shining steel helmet, is another Polish knight, Domarat Grzymalczyk  of Kobylany, later a castellan of Lublin;German knight Marquard von Salzbach is captured by a wild looking warrior identified as a Tatar or a Cossack;another German knight is clutching von Salzbach's garb, this is Johan von Wenden;future Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen is to the right of the painting as well, escaping to organize the defense of the remains of the Order's territory;behind von Plauen is a figure Matejko identified as Krzysztof, bishop of Lübeck. Modern historians have however failed to associate this figure with any historical person, noting that there was no bishop of this or similar time at contemporary Lübeck;to the right of von Plauen is a Polish knight and dignitary Jan Długosz of Niedzielsk, father of the chronicler Jan Długosz;future cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki is shown as one of Jagiełło's advisers. Near Władysław are also: his relative, Zygmunt Korybut, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown, Mikołaj Trąba, Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia. On the ground under Oleśnicki is the body of the German knight Dippold Kikeritz who tried to charge Jagiełło, but was felled by his entourage.Matejko combined three key parts of the battle into one tableau: an opportunistic attack by German knight Kökeritz on Jagiełło, the death of the Grand Master, and the taking of the Teutonic camp (in the top left corner). Unlike many other paintings of battles, the Battle of Grunwald does not separate the viewer from the action; instead it places him at the center of it. Matejko said he felt like a "possessed man" while he made the painting.Matejko based the painting in part on a description of the battle in Długosz' chronicles, which accounts for several historical inaccuracies. At the same time, he was meticulous about correctly depicting the terrain of the battle, having visited the site of the conflict in 1877.

Category:Paintings in the National Museum, Warsaw

File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg

''Prussian Homage''. National Museum in Kraków

Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts

File:Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Muzeum Narodowe 05.JPG

physical destruction of all artifacts of Polish culture

''The Battle of Grunwald'' displayed in the National Museum in Warsaw