Still Life: Kuniyoshi's Studio

Artist Bumpei Usui (Japanese, 1898 - 1994)

Date1930

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions50 x 32 in. (127 x 81.3 cm)
Framed: 57 1/4 x 39 1/4 in. (145.4 x 99.7 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2007.219

Signedl.r.: Bumpei Usui

Accession number 2007.219

On View

Not on view

ProvenanceEstate of the Artist; Private Collection, New York, NY; (D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc., New York, NY); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2007
Label TextLike his close friend Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Bumpei Usui was born in Japan and immigrated to the United States. In this still life, Usui depicted an arrangement of objects referencing his friend’s presence. Next to Kuniyoshi’s hat, cane, and gloves, a Japanese-style vase holds a bouquet of dahlias. According to the traditional Japanese language of flowers (hanakotoba), these symbolize good taste.

Al igual que su buen amigo Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Bumpei Usui nació en Japón e inmigró a los Estados Unidos. En esta naturaleza muerta, Usui representa una disposición de objetos que hacen referencia a la presencia de su amigo. Junto al sombrero, el bastón y los guantes de Kuniyoshi, vemos un florero de estilo japonés con un ramo de dalias. Según el tradicional lenguaje de las flores japonés (hanakotoba), las dalias simbolizan el buen gusto.