大阪で「大原美術館所蔵 名画への旅ー虎次郎の夢」展が開催中
“The Ohara Museum of Art Collection: A Journey through Masterpieces – Torajiro’s Dream” is currently being held in Osaka.
中の島香雪美術館 ２０２６．１．３ ～ ３．２９
大原美術館は我が国初の西洋美術館として誕生し、まもなく創立100年を迎えます。いまや国内屈指の美術館として広く親しまれています。
しかしその始まりは100点に満たない西洋の絵画と彫刻でした。いずれも洋画家、児島虎次郎が単身でヨーロッパに渡り、現地で買い付けたもので、購入にあたっては、倉敷紡績株式会社二代目社長、大原孫三郎の資金的援助がありました。「日本の人々に本物を見せたい」――若き二人のこの思いが、やがて大原美術館の設立につながります。
本展は、2025年春に児島虎次郎記念館が開館し、児島への関心がいっそう高まる中、創立100年を目前にした大原美術館の改修工事にともなう休館により、「これぞ名品！」というにふさわしい作品を館外で展示することが可能となった貴重な機会です。エル・グレコ《受胎告知》、ポール・ゴーギャン《かぐわしき大地》、クロード・モネ《睡蓮》など、ベルギーから始まる児島虎次郎の足取りを辿りながら、さまざまな名画を尋ね歩く旅にも似た内容です。 （※以上、公式ホームページ案内文より抜粋）
この機会をぜひ、お見逃しなく！
The Ohara Museum of Art was founded as Japan’s first museum dedicated to Western art and will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. Today, it is widely cherished as one of the country’s leading art museums.
However, its beginnings were modest, consisting of fewer than one hundred Western paintings and sculptures. All were acquired in Europe by the Western-style painter Torajiro Kojima, who traveled there alone to purchase them. The acquisitions were made possible through the financial support of Magosaburo Ohara, the second president of Kurashiki Spinning Co., Ltd. “We want to show the Japanese people the real thing.” — This shared aspiration of the two young men ultimately led to the establishment of the Ohara Museum of Art.
This exhibition presents a rare opportunity. In the spring of 2025, the Torajiro Kojima Memorial Museum opened, further heightening interest in Kojima. Meanwhile, as the Ohara Museum of Art approaches its 100th anniversary, it has temporarily closed for renovation work. As a result, a selection of works truly deserving to be called “masterpieces” is being exhibited outside the museum.
The exhibition resembles a journey in search of great paintings, tracing the footsteps of Torajiro Kojima beginning in Belgium. Highlights include El Greco’s The Annunciation, Paul Gauguin’s The Perfumed Earth, and Claude Monet’s Water Lilies.
(Excerpted from the official website description)
Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity!
