The Marvelous Maidens and Mysterious Nymphs of Yamamoto Fumihiko

Yamamoto Fumihiko is a Western-style painter and printmaker born in Tokyo in 1937. Now he is a professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and a member of the Japanese Art Academy, who lives in Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture (50 km from the center of Tokyo). In Japan, Fumihiko is an acknowledged artist with many prizes. His depictions of gentle nymphs as they emerge from mysterious landscapes that look more like prehistoric creatures with scales, eyes, and hidden faces, give us vibes of French symbolists Gustave Moreau and Odilon Redone.

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Student And Teacher

Born in Tokyo, Fumihiko was evacuated to Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. He received primary education at Nozawa Kita High School and then studied at the Tokyo University of Education. In 1961, Fumihiko graduated from the Department of Education with a degree in arts. After graduation, he was a teacher at Chiba Prefectural Chosei High School and, eight years later, became an assistant professor at Yamaguchi University. In 1985, he attained the rank of professor and began working at the University of Tsukuba, Department of Art. In the 1990s, the artist took part in the NHK Educational Television project "Oil Painting" as a lecturer. At the beginning of the 21st century, Fumihiko retired from the university and became a professor emeritus.

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Member of The Nikikai Association

In the Wikipedia entry, Fumihiko is said to be the director of the Nikikai Association. On the site of Nikikai, he is listed as a managing director of the painting department, while the Chairman is Yamamoto Tadashi. Nikikai Association of Japanese painters and sculptors is a post-war organization established by former members of the pre-war Nika Association that we mentioned in our article on Ikuo Ogawa's art. Both Nika and Nikikai hold exhibitions all over Japan and promote local art. Fumihiko was first selected to participate at the Nikikai Exhibition in 1958. Seventeen years later, in 1975, he received the Miyamoto Award at another exhibition held by the Nikikai Association.

In Premium you can find more on Fumihiko's specific aesthetics and his portrayal of nymphs  and also 16 additional images.

Click HERE for the influential erotica of the influential symbolist painter Gustave Moreau

Sources: Wikipedia.org; auctions.yahoo.co.jp