Who is Kuroda Seiki? Google Doodle celebrates Japanese painter

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates what would have been the 156th birthday of the Japanese artist and teacher, Kuroda Seiki.

Seiki is credited with bringing Western art theory to Japan, where he has come to be known as the “father of Western-style painting”.

He was most influential in Japan during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and he is still remembered as one of Japan’s most important artists.

But, who was Kuroda Seiki? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who was Kuroda Seiki?

Kuroda Seiki was born on August 9, 1866, in Takamibaba, Satsuma Domain, which is present-day Kagoshima Prefecture.

He was the son of a samurai of the Shimazu clan, but was adopted as his uncle’s heir at birth and moved to his estate in Tokyo.

His uncle, Kuroda Kiyotsuna, served in high positions in the imperial government. He was named a viscount while Kuroda was young.

At age 18, Kuroda travelled to Paris to study law, and was planning on staying there for a decade. Then, in 1886, he attended a party for Japanese nationals in Paris, where he met the painters Yamomoto Hosui and Fuji Masazo, as well as the art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi, who urged him to take up painting.

Before that, he had enjoyed painting, but only considered it a hobby.

That party was a pivotal moment for him, and after that he went on to spend a decade learning how to paint in the Western academic style.

In 1893, Kuroda returned to Japan, where he brought new ideas and freshness to the Western-style art scene throughout Japan.

He also created a Western painting school, called Tenshin Dojo, as well as establishing pleinairism, which is an art-historical term, used to describe painting outdoors and capturing nature.

In 1986, he established the Habuka-kai, otherwise known as the White Horse Society, a group of Japanese practitioners of yoga and painting.

Towards the end of his life, Kuroda was chosen as a teishitsu gigei-in, or Imperial Household Artist, to create works for the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

He also served as the president of the Imperial Art Academy, and was titled as a viscount in 1917. In 1920, he was elected to join Japan’s House of Peers.

What are Kuroda’s most famous works and where can they be seen?

Kuroda’s most famous works include “Lakeside” (1897), “Maiko” (1893), “Woman Holding a Mandolin” (1891) and “The Fields” (1907) - with “Maiko” and “Lakeside” both turned into commemorative stamps in Japan.

His works are found in many museums and galleries, including the Artizon Museum in Tokyo and the Kuroda Memorial Hall within the Tokyo National Museum.