Society

Van Gogh exhibition underway in Tokyo

Oct 30 (NHK) - Art lovers are visiting a special exhibition in Tokyo that focuses on the connection between the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh and Japanese culture.

"Van Gogh & Japan" features about 40 works by the 19th-century artist as well as ukiyo-e woodprints and other materials.

Van Gogh's fascination with ukiyo-e is well known. He collected more than 400 woodprints and employed their compositions and color combinations in his paintings.

One of the exhibits, "Courtesan -- after Eisen", is based on a woodprint by Keisai Eisen that was reproduced on the cover of a French magazine in 1886.

A courtesan is depicted with Van Gogh's trademark bright colors. The background shows a pond with cranes and frogs.

In another work, "The Sower", a huge tree trunk diagonally divides the canvas. The artist is said to have used a woodprint by the ukiyo-e master Utagawa Hiroshige as a reference.

The exhibition will run through January 8th. It will then be transferred to Kyoto.

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