Observations on the Relationship between the Abstract Expression in the Arts and the Perception of the Natural World in 1930s France

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16651
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Japan Women's University (2017-2018); Kyoto Saga University of Arts (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: YAMAMOTO YUKI 日本女子大学, 人間社会学部, 研究員 (30537882)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 近現代美術 / 自然観 / 抽象芸術

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The goal of this research is to elucidate the manner in which the evolution of abstract expression in the arts was influenced by fresh insights into the natural world afforded by the progress of the science and technology in France during the 1930s. By focusing on several concrete examples, we clarify the strong influence of the naturalistic point of view on the artistic process of Purist artists such as Le Corbusier, Amedee Ozenfant and Fernand Leger, known for their abundant use of organic forms derived from nature.
Moreover, we examine how, under the guise of a new “realism”, their creative activity reflected the greater social environment of that decade, when numerous artists sought to translate scientific discoveries about the natural world into abstract artistic expression.

Free Research Field

美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ひとつは、1930年代というまだ研究が未整備な時代を特徴づける思想的原理に着目した点に学術的な意義が認められる。また、1930年代の新しい自然観の展開を、20世紀初頭以来の科学と芸術を結び付けようとするダイナミックな視点と思考法との関連性に着目している点に特色がある。さらに、ピュリスムなどフランスの芸術家たちが形成した自然観から抽象芸術を捉え直すことで、当時フランス美術にとって外的なものとみなされた抽象芸術がフランスにおいて受容されるまでの変遷過程を解明するための新しい視点をもたらしたといえる。