Exhibition at the Baur Foundation

Illustration taken from 'Hachimantarō Yoshiie (八幡太郎義家)' by Yoshitoshi (芳年)

"The artists in this exhibition all belong to the prestigious Utagawa 歌川 school and represent the generation of the students of Hiroshige 広重 (1797-1858), Kunisada 國貞 (1786-1865), and Kuniyoshi 國芳 (1798-1861). Through their apprenticeship in their workshops, they were trained in a very wide range of subjects, from portraits of actors and women, to landscapes, warrior subjects, and humorous pictures.

All these works date to between 1860 and 1890, three decades corresponding to the last years of the Edo period 江戸 (1603-1868) and the beginning of the Meiji era 明治 (1868-1912); this was a crucial time in the history of modern Japan, marked by profound political and social changes brought about, among other things, by the opening of the country to ideas and technology from the West."

- Fondation Baur 'Japanese Prints 1850-1890'

 

I started working at the Museum of Art and History in Geneva in July and was told about this exhibition on my first day. I went to see it twice and would have gone a third if it had lasted longer. This exhibition was well presented and I totally fell in love with the colourful and fierce art of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡 芳年).

 

The Baur Foundation has a very interesting collection of more than 9,000 Chinese and Japanese artefacts, mostly lackerware, ceramics and small objects. The museum is located in a 19th century building near the old town of Geneva, and I think it's work going just to go inside the building.