Watanabe Seitei - Bird and flower paintings that captivated the West - 55th Anniversary of Sano Museum of Art and 80th Anniversary of Mishima City

A little-known Japanese painter is reborn here

This is the first exhibition to present the complete artwork of Watanabe Seitei (1852-1918), a Japanese painter active from the Meiji to Taisho periods.
Seitei was born in Edo at the end of the Edo period, and from the age of 16 he became an apprentice to the historical painter Kikuchi Yosai. He then worked on sketches for export crafts, and at the age of 28 he became the first Japanese painter to travel to France, where he interacted with the Impressionist painter Degas, and was highly praised for his work exhibited at the World's Fair and a solo exhibition in England. Seitei established a foothold in Japan with his outstanding painting skills and meticulous realistic depictions of bird and flower paintings, but in later years he left the art world and stuck to his own style until his death at the age of 68.
Since his death, there have been no retrospective exhibitions and he has been known only to a select few, but now that momentum is building for his reevaluation, around 100 masterpieces, mainly from overseas and private collections, will be gathered in one place. Please enjoy the colorful world of Seitei's paintings, including flowers and birds rich in soft textures, humid air, and elegant and glamorous Edo beauties.