松本竣介

Matsumoto Shunsuke was born Satō Shunsuke, the second son of Satō Katsumi and Hana, in 1912 in Shibuya-machi, Toyotama District, Tokyo Prefecture (today’s Shibuya Ward, Tokyo). His elder brother Akira was three years his senior. Their father’s work took the family to Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture when Shunsuke was two, and his childhood was spent there and at nearby Morioka. In the spring of his thirteenth year, on the point of entering Iwate Prefectural Morioka Middle School, the boy became ill with epidemic cerebral meningitis. On coming through the near-fatal ordeal, he found he had lost his hearing. It was the gift of a set of oil painting tools sent by his brother in 1927 that inspired him to become a painter. In 1929, after moving with his mother to Tokyo, where Akira had been studying, Shunsuke attended the school Taiheiyō Gakai Kenkyūjo (Pacific Painting Association Institute). In 1931, he and other young artists of the school founded the Taiheiyō Kindai Geijutsu Kenkyūkai (Pacific Modern Art Study Group) and brought out a magazine called “Sen [Lines].” His companions initially included Ishida Shin’ichi, Sonoda Takeshi, Katsumoto Katsuyoshi, Tajiri Tōshirō, and Yamauchi Tameo; the painters Asō Saburō and Terada Masaaki joined later. At the same time, the group’s core members took to gathering at the café Liliom in Yanaka, Tokyo, and formed the artists’ collective Akamamekai (Red Bean Society). Later, in 1935, Shusuke also participated in the NOVA Bijutsu Kyōkai (NOVA Art Association). By this time, his father had become a devoted follower of the new religion Seicho-No-Ie, and between 1933 and 1936 at their father’s urging, the sons joined in editing the group’s magazine “Seimei no geijutsu [Art of Life].” Shunsuke also contributed articles, including “Ningen fūkei [Human Landscape],” and illustrations. In 1935, “Tatemono” 建物 (Building) (1935, The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama) was selected for the 22nd Nika Exhibition. Like other early works by the artist, it showed a marked influence from painters in and around the School of Paris, notably Amedeo Modigliani and Georges Rouault. The thick black lines accentuating the outlines of the buildings are a characteristic reminiscent of Rouault. He took an artistic interest in buildings throughout his career; regardless of changes in painting style, they remained important motifs in his works. On marrying in 1936, he assumed the family name of his wife Teiko Matsumoto. Setting up in Shimo-ochiai (what is today Nakai, Shinjuku, Tokyo), he called his new home and atelier the “Sōgō Kōbō [Comprehensive Workshop].” He also launched the essay magazine “Zakkichō [Miscellaneous Notes],” editing and commissioning manuscripts and illustrations, with his wife’s help, and contributing his own essays. By seeking out eminent contributors in fields ranging from literature and art to architecture, natural science, and physics, the publication embodied the couple’s ideal of linking art, science, and life—amid Japan’s march from the invasion of Manchuria to the Second Sino-Japanese War. It ran for 14 issues before closing in 1937 due to financial difficulties. When Matsumoto exhibited at the 25th Nika Exhibition in 1938 with “Machi” 街 (Cityscape) (1938, Okawa Museum of Art, Gunma), the public was introduced to a new style of painting. Set in the middle of the blue-toned picture plane was the standing figure of a woman dressed in modern clothing, surrounded by urban motifs. By their arrangement, the motifs lent an odd sense of weightlessness to the overall image. The next three works he exhibited—“Josetsu” 序説 (Prelude) (1939, Iwate Museum of Art), “Yūgata” 夕方 (Evening) (1939, Private Collection), and “Tokai” 都会 (Cityscape) (1940, Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama)—pursued a similar style. Multilayered compositions executed with free lines—a method he adapted from works by the German-American artist George Grosz—they incorporated within their urban settings figures of various sizes dressed in both Western and Japanese fashion. He did not persist, however, with this sort of anonymous landscape evoking the hustle and bustle of the city; his painting style was about to change again. Around the time of the outbreak of the Pacific War, he visited various locations in Tokyo and Yokohama with a small, handmade sketchbook and began to capture urban views in situ. A dramatic change appeared in the content of his landscapes: the streets were now deserted and shadowy figures served as staffage. Urban infrastructure and buildings—streets, canals, bridges, railway bridges, and factories—dominate the composition in “Gijidō no aru fūkei” 議事堂のある風景 (Landscape with the Diet Building) (1942, Iwate Museum of Art), “Y-shi no hashi” Y市の橋 (Bridge in Y-City) (1943, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), and “Unga” 運河 (Canal View) (1943, Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo). In employing kraft paper to transfer his cartoons onto canvas, he drew on the techniques of both classical Western painting and Oriental painting. In the process of transferring the rapid sketches done in the street, he eliminated unnecessary elements and created unique images: solid, mostly anonymous, and brimming with lyricism. On the other hand, starting from his 1940 solo exhibition, he had also been producing self-portraits in a very different, realistic style. In 1941, the art magazine “Mizue” published a roundtable discussion entitled “The National Defense State and the Fine Arts: What Painters Should Do” (issue 434) in which the participants advocated a national-socialist view of the function of the arts. Matsumoto responded in the same magazine later the same year (issue 437) with an essay, “Ikiteiru gaka [The Living Artist],” defending artistic freedom and subjectivity. This episode is one of the reasons why, after the war, Matsumoto has often been portrayed as a “painter of resistance” and his “Tateru zō” 立てる像 (Standing Figure) (1942, The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama) and other “self-portraits” have been interpreted as symbolic of this stance. While these “self-portraits” have aroused conflicting views and comments, there is general agreement that during the period of the war he was constantly looking at himself and adopting a unique attitude, as if questioning his inner self. Starting off with small-size works, the series evolved into the large “Gaka no zō” 画家の像 (A Painter) (1941, The Miyagi Museum of Art), “Tateru zō,” “San’nin” 三人 (Three People) (1943, private collection), and “Gonin” 五人 (Five People) (1943, private collection) in which the figures all stand facing the viewer. Women and children (mainly boys) were among other important subjects for Matsumoto. Having children of his own must have informed these appealing compositions, although, as with his landscapes, he was more concerned with creating a universal image through the subject of a child. Once again, he began with cartoons in preparation for the final work. In 1943, Matsumoto launched Shinjingakai (New Artsits’ Group) with Ai-Mitsu, Asō Saburō, Terada Masaaki, Inoue Chōzaburō, Ōno Gorō, Itozono Wasaburō, and Tsuruoka Masao, and held three group exhibitions up to the following year. Around this time, at his father suggestion, he began signing his name with a different character, changing “俊介” to “竣介” (both can be read as “Shunsuke”). After the horrendous firebombing of Tokyo in early March 1945, he sent his family to Matsuyama, Shimane Prefecture, the Matsumoto family’s hometown, although he himself chose to stay in the capital. From around 1946, while struggling to rebuild his life amid the chaos of the war’s aftermath, he captured images of ruined Tokyo in “Yakeato fūkei” 焼跡風景 (Fire Ruins) (1946, Nakano Museum of Art, Nara), “Kanda fūkei” 神田風景 (View of Kanda) (1946–1947, private collection), and other works. Meanwhile, he prepared a text entitled “Zen nihon bijutsuka ni hakaru [Consulting with All Japanese Artists]” and sent it to various painters and intellectuals. He called for the formation of a union of artist to assist in reviving the art world. In 1947, he joined the Jiyū Bijutsuka Kyōkai (Free Artists’ Association), along with other former members of the war-era Shinjin Gakai. However, bowed down by fatigue, he fell ill at the end of the year. Despite still suffering a high fever, he was able to complete two paintings, “Chōkoku to onna” 彫刻と女 (Woman with Sculpture) (1948, Fukuoka Art Museum) and “Tatemono” 建物 (Building) (1948, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) by the following May, in time for the Second Bijutsu Dantai Rengōten (Art Groups Union Exhibition). The abstracted figures and buildings painted with thick, bold lines on translucent ground tones seemed to foreshadow the emergence of a new painting style. But heart failure brought on by severe bronchial asthma claimed the artist’s life soon after at the early age of 36. (Nagato Saki / Translated by Ota So & Walter Hamilton) (Published online: 2025-03-19)