At the height of his career, Ike Taiga (1723-76) was one of the most famous painters in Japan. Yet in recent years, he has been eclipsed by contemporary Ito Jakuchu, a fellow Kyotoite with a much more eccentric style and personality. With ¡°Ike Taiga: Landscape of Sunlight,¡± Idemitsu Museum of Arts director Sachiko Idemitsu hopes to restore Taiga to his rightful place in the public¡¯s mind.
Idemitsu is also the curator of the exhibition, which is on view at the eponymous museum in Tokyo¡¯s Chiyoda Ward until March 24. It is the first retrospective of Taiga¡¯s work in Tokyo in 13 years and was long overdue.
Little predestined Taiga to become one of the most successful artists of his generation. He was born into a modest Kyoto farming family with little power or pelf. His father held a minor position, which gave him some standing, but he died when his son was only three. Still a toddler, Taiga¡¯s future was at best uncertain.
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