Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art is holding an exhibition of works by Shunsuke Matsumoto (1912–1948), a Western-style painter from Japan who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. Shunsuke lived at the time when Oyamazaki Villa was built and visited by many leading figures in the cultural, political, and business worlds.
Shunsuke Matsumotowas born in Tokyo in 1912 and moved to Iwate Prefecture at the age of two. He grew up to be a bright boy but lost his hearing due to illness at the age of 13. After being presented with a set of oil painting tools by his elder brother, Shunsuke moved to Tokyo at 17 and began to study painting in earnest. His paintings were first selected for the Nika Art Exhibition in 1935. He continued his journey of artistic exploration and devoted passionate efforts to creating artworks until his early death at 36. His tranquil and lyrical works still fascinate us even today.
It was the works of Shunsuke Matsumoto that inspired Eiji Okawa (1924–2008), the founder of Okawa Museum of Art in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, to start collecting artworks. This exhibition features about 60 paintings and sketches, mainly from the Sunsuke Matsumoto collection of Okawa Museum of Art, to trace the artistic career of Shunsuke, who left a clear mark on the Japanese art world despite his short life.