高橋由一<山形市街図>と江戸名所絵

Abstract

明治期の洋画家である高橋由一の油彩作品にっいては, 近年, その革新性のみならず, 江戸美術とのつながりにみられるような伝統的側面も研究されてきている。由一の風景画のなかでも, 明治14-5年ごろの制作とされる《山形市街図》は, 同構図の写真との影響関係から, 従来, 伝統的風景表現を脱した写実的絵画とみなされてきた。本小論では, この《山形市街図》が, 写真にもとづきながらも, 遠近法の消失点に中心モティーフを置く独特の手法において, 江戸名所絵の伝統を踏襲していることを指摘する。また, 群童にはない空の表現や点景人物の加筆などの点においても, 広重のような江戸の浮世絵風景版画の描き方とのっながりが見られることを考察する。

In recent years, it has been pointed out by several scholars that the oil paintings by Takahashi Yuichi, one of the predecessors of Western-style painting in the Meiji era of Japan, have several traditional aspects as well as a visual radicality. Among his landscape paintings, the View of Yamagata City was probably painted after the photograph of the same composition and has been considered as a realistic painting devoid of any traditional elements. Despite its close relationship to the photograph, this paper reconsiders the View of Yamagata City as a landscape painted within the tradition of the Famous Views of Yedo, showing the same style which set the major motif on the vanishing point of perspective. Moreover, the expression of the sunset sky and the existence of small-scale people, which do not appear in the photograph are also reminiscent of landscape prints by Ukiyo-e painters such as Hiroshige.