臺南美術史

“Selected Work in the Taiten – In Front of the Temple by Misono Gida.” Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News), evening edition, 1928.11.9 (page 4).

Misono Nobuya (years of birth and death unknown) was also known as Misono Gida. He graduated from the Western-style Painting Division at the Tokyo Fine Arts School in 1923, and began teaching at the First Girls’ Senior Middle School of Tainan County (臺南第一高女) in 1928. It was also in this year that he created In Front of the Temple, a painting that depicts a view of the Tainan Dongyue Temple (臺南東嶽殿), which was selected in the 2nd Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition). Misono composed a poem to go with this painting; “In front of the temple, men and women form a busy crowd. All of them pray for fortune and longevity. The powerful and the rich also visit in the evening. Most of them seek the pity of divinity.” The poem describes the temple as full of worshippers, and even those from aristocratic and powerful families also come at dusk to pray for the pity of gods. However, the painting does not portray a rambunctious scene as the first half of the poem describes. The area where the Dongyue Temple is located has been densely populated since the Ming and Qing dynasties, but there are only three or four women and children depicted as staffage in the image. Perhaps, just like the second half of the poem describes, the artist aimed to portray the temple’s emptiness at dusk when powerful and rich worshippers came to seek divine assistance. Delineated with unfettered brushstrokes, the image somehow shows a sense of order. Yamashita Takeo (山下武夫) thereby commented that the painting showed the style of “Mannerism.”

References:
Chang, Che-Wei, Lee Su-Chu. “Selected Work in the Taiten – In Front of the Temple by Misono Hota.” Missing Pieces – Taifuten Historical Archives. https://taifuten.com/oblect/臺展入選（廟前）御園生芳太/#squelch-taas-toggle-shortcode-content-2 (viewed on 2023.10.5)
“Selected Work in the Taiten – In Front of the Temple by Misono Hota.” Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News), evening edition, 1928.11.9 (page 4).
Yamashita, Takeo, Nishio Yoshizumi. “Western-style Paintings in the Futen (Part II).” Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News), 1939.11.5 (page 6).