Updated 10 April 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Women Reading
| Date | 1922 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 131 x 98.5 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower left: Aman Jean |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | M7 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1959-0004 |
Women under filtered sunlight were one of Aman-Jean's favorite motifs. The methods of expressing soft sunlight and the use of brushwork to fuse an object to its background, which Aman-Jean had learned from Impressionism, can be found in his symbolist period pastels. These techniques add a unique suggestive quality to his work. This painting of two women reading in the open air depicts an actual scene. However, the white, purple, pink and green colors, the clothing that blends into the background, and the languorous poses of the women all convey a fantasy mood. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 103)
Provenance
Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe, by 1923–1924; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1924
- XIVª Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 0 1924 - 0 1924, cat. p. 177, no. 3, repr. p. 98
- 1989
- Le monde des intimistes: le bonheur de quotidien, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 5 August 1989 - 20 October 1989
- 1990
- The Silent Dialogue: Still Life in the West and Japan, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, 21 April 1990 - 10 June 1990, Ⅰ-5, col. repr.
- 1994
- Kokuritsu Seiyo Bijyutsukan Shozo Sakuhin ni yoru Yoroppa Bijyutsu eno Shotai, Karatsu City LIbrary, 12 November 1994 - 11 December 1994, cat. no. 4, col. repr.
- 1996
- The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 50
- 2017
- [Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017] Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: From the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, 22 April 2017 - 2 July 2017, Akita Museum of Modern Art, 15 July-18 September, cat. no. 92
Bibliography
- 1924
- XIVª Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 1924: Catalogo, 2nd ed., [Venezia, 1924], p. 175, cat. no. 3, repr. p. 98
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-4.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 4, repr.
- 1989
- Le monde des intimistes: le bonheur de quotidien (exh. cat.). The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, ed. [Urawa], The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 1989, pp. 43, 104, cat. no. 3, col. repr.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 9.
- 1994
- Kokuritsu Seiyo Bijutsukan Shozo Sakuhin ni Yoru Europa Bijutsu e no Shotai (exh. cat.). Karatsu City Library; National Museum of Wetsern Art. Karatsu, Karatsu City Library, 1994, cat. no. 4, col. repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 103, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 103, col. repr.
- 2017
- Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: from the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017 (exh. cat.). Nakada, Asuka, ed. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2017, pp. 119, 142, cat. no. 92, col. repr.
- 2018
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 7, col. repr.