After World War II, Yamanaka Haruo, who had studied oil painting in Osaka, returned from mainland China, where he had gone during the war, and settled in Yokohama. From the end of 1953 into 1954, he traveled to Europe, and he exhibited this painting on his return. Two striking figures depicted with dark outlines and unusual proportions are seated side by side in front of a table. The table, chairs, and even the woman’s clothing are transparent, but in contrast, their hearts appear completely opaque. Yamanaka’s style was gradually shifting at this time from one that prompted viewers to think about the drama behind his figures to one in which human existence itself was questioned, with his figures gradually becoming unrecognizable. With his untimely death in 1962, Yamanaka’s career ended when he was still in his early 40s.
(HIBINO Miyon)
After World War II, Yamanaka Haruo, who had studied oil painting in Osaka, returned from mainland China, where he had gone during the war, and settled in Yokohama. From the end of 1953 into 1954, he traveled to Europe, and he exhibited this painting on his return. Two striking figures depicted with dark outlines and unusual proportions are seated side by side in front of a table. The table, chairs, and even the woman’s clothing are transparent, but in contrast, their hearts appear completely opaque. Yamanaka’s style was gradually shifting at this time from one that prompted viewers to think about the drama behind his figures to one in which human existence itself was questioned, with his figures gradually becoming unrecognizable. With his untimely death in 1962, Yamanaka’s career ended when he was still in his early 40s.
(HIBINO Miyon)