Aōdō Denzen
Japanese painter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aōdō Denzen (亜欧堂 田善; c. 1748 – June 25, 1822) was a Japanese painter and copperplate engraver. A leading figure in Japanese painting during the late Edo period, he is credited with introducing Western painting to Japan.
(永田 善吉, Nagata Zenkichi)
c. 1748
Aōdō Denzen | |
|---|---|
亜欧堂 田善 | |
 Portrait of Aōdō by Endō Denichi | |
| Born | Zenkichi Nagata (永田 善吉, Nagata Zenkichi) c. 1748 Sukagawa, Mutsu Province, Japan |
| Died | June 25, 1822 (aged 73–74) |
| Other names | Aeudoo Denzento[1] |
| Occupations | Painter, copperplate engraver |
| Relatives | Eiji Tsuburaya (descendant) |
Biography
Early life
Aōdō was born Zenkichi Nagata (永田 善吉, Nagata Zenkichi) in 1748 in Sukagawa, Mutsu Province (now Fukushima Prefecture), Japan.[2] He was the second son of Sōshirō Nagata, a wealthy farm implement dealer.[3] Upon the death of his father, he helped his older brother, Jokichi, who was a dyer, for a long time. Jokichi had a penchant for painting, and while working in the family business, Zenkichi learned painting from him.
Painting career
In his painting career, Aōdō employed Western-style painting techniques such as perspective and shading to achieve Western-style copperplate engraving.[2] Adding Edo customs to Shiba Kokan's Western-style landscape paintings, he discovered new landscapes and perfected Western-style landscape copperplate engravings.[2]
Legacy
Sadaki Ota's Aōdō Denzen Collection, owned by the Sukagawa museum, was declared an important culturally significant in 1986.[2] In 2001, Eiji Tsuburaya biographers cited Aōdō as an ancestor of Tsuburaya, claiming Tsuburaya inherited Aōdō's dexterity.[4][5]
