臺南美術史

Nashima Mitsugi, Scenery of Anping, 1929, from the catalogue of the 3rd Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition).

This work by Nashima Mitsugi (1905-unknown) was selected into the 3rd Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition) in 1929. Nashima became a teacher at the Tainan Normal School (臺南師範學院; now National University of Tainan) in 1929. Due to language barrier, Nashima decided to follow his colleagues to paint landscapes from life. This work is a scenery of Tainan’s Anping painted shortly after the artist arrived in Taiwan. Based on the architectural style, the view is probably the alleyway near Elles & Co. (怡記洋行) in Tainan. The artist used the street and the brick walls to construct a sense of space in the image, in which a faintly visible figure was passing by. Overall, the image conveys an unostentatious quality. Elles & Co. was one of the five major foreign trading companies in Anping. The building was possessed by various owners throughout history, and was eventually demolished in 1992 due to the lack of value as a historic site. Today, only a stele marking the historical location of Elles & Co. stands at the site.

References:
Lee, Shu-Pei. “A Study of Landscapes of Tainan in the Catalogues of the Taiten and the Futen during the Period of Japanese Rule.” The 2022 NCAF Visual Arts Grant for Study and Research – 2nd Phase, 2023.