臺南美術史

Hara Susumu, Early Spring (1927), from the catalogue of the 1st Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition)

Hara Susumu (1899 – year of death unknown) graduated from the Western-style Painting Division of Tokyo Fine Arts School (東京美術學校). He traveled to Taiwan in 1925, and had taught at the Tainan First Senior High School. Based on the signature on the lower right of the painting, the painting was created in 1927. According to “Color the Island with the Autumn Art” (1927) in Taiwan Times (臺灣時報), “nineteen works receiving the review exemption status are in one room”—that is, all the works exempted from review, including this painting, were on view in the same space. So, this painting also enjoyed the status of review exemption. Judging from the architecture and the steeple, it can be inferred that the painting depicts the Tainan Theological College (臺南神學院). The overall image demonstrates a Cubist style, characterized by simple, well-executed lines and vibrant blocks of color. Although the image in the catalogue is only in black and white, the stark contrast in the painting suggests that the sunlight came from the left side, producing the tree shades, whereas the withered trees in the foreground and those at the back create a vivid contrast, echoing the title Early Spring that beckons the end of a life’s cycle and its upcoming new beginning.

References:
Nishioka, Tousui. “Editorial: Color the Island with an Artistic Autumn (Brief Comments on Amateur Painters in the Taiten).” Taiwan Times, 97: 83-92, 1927; Liu, Chi-Yu. “Early Spring.” Missing Pieces – Taifuten Historical Archives. https://taifuten.com/oblect/早春-2/#squelch-taas-toggle-shortcode-content-2 (viewed on 2023.11.10)
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.