臺南美術史

Ito Masatoshi, Tainan Theological College and Seminary, 1938, the 1st Futen
Source: The catalogue of the 1st Futen

This painting by Ito Masatoshi (years of birth and death unknown) was selected into the 1st Futen (Taiwan Viceroy Art Exhibition) in 1938. Based on the Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News) of 1939, Ito taught at the Tainan South Gate Common Primary School (南門尋常小學校; now Chien Hsing Junior High School) and the Takara Public School (寶公學校; now Liren Elementary School) after graduating from the Exercise Division of the Taihoku Normal School in 1931. During the period of teaching in Tainan, he painted the scenery of the Tainan Theological College and Seminary. The overall composition is succinct, using the gate in the middle ground to produce the depth in the image and delineating the theme of the painting in the background. The architectural style is visible in the image: the building is symmetrical with a pointed spire, and the windows are in the style of pointed and rounded arches. The surface of the roof is covered in Taiwanese-style “monk and nun tiles,” making this religious building a unique mixture of Chinese and Western architectural style. The history of the Tainan Theological College and Seminary can be traced back to the “Student’s Class” set up by Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell (1836-1921) and Rev. Hugh Ritchie in 1869. Today, the building is still used as a chapel. Because of the exotic atmosphere of the buildings and environment of the Tainan Theological College and Seminary during the period of Japanese rule, painters often painted from life in this area.

References:
“This Year, Nineteen People, including Shigeto Inoue, Are Enshrined at Chishan Rock.” Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News), 1939 (page 4). https://rrxin.tnnua.edu.tw/cgi-bin2/Libo.cgi? (viewed on 2023.9.28)
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.
“Former School Building and Chapel of the Tainan Theological College and Seminary.” National Cultural Heritage Database. https://nchdb.boch.gov.tw/assets/overview/monument/20020625000002 (viewed on 2023.9.28)