Research on the theory of art on the utopique image in the Post-Impressionism

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00131
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01050:Aesthetics and art studies-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto City University of Arts (2022-2023); Kyoto Institute of Technology (2019-2021)
• Principal Investigator: NAGAI Takanori 京都市立芸術大学, 美術学部/美術研究科, 非常勤講師 (60207967)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ユートピア芸術論 / ポスト印象主義 / セザンヌ / ファン・ゴッホ / ゴーギャン / シャヴァンヌ / 近代化 / アンチ・モダニスム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Post-Impressionists (such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cezanne) sought utopia as a solution to their doubts and discomfort with the times and society in which they lived. Escaping from the advancing modernity of Paris, they sought inspiration in the landscapes and objects of southern France, Brittany, or even Tahiti, where they conceived utopian paintings. Though they worked in the late 19th century, their creation of utopian paintings coincided with the emergence of contradictions and negative consequences of modernization, which had been brewing since the early 19th century. This suggests that, like utopian paintings, literature, and philosophical works of the past, utopia is conceived within the context of society. While it may seem like an escape from society, it is in fact a form of societal engagement.

Free Research Field

美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ポスト印象派（印象派の後1880－90年代に展開した世紀末の芸術現象全般を指す）の中でもその出発点となった狭義のポスト印象派（セザンヌ、ファン・ゴッホ、ゴーギャン）において、ユートピア芸術論が一種の共同作業として形成されたのではないかとの仮説に立って、新古典主義の「集団美学」を否定したロマン主義以降、専ら「個性」や「独創性」の追求として語られてきた近代主義（modernism）の言説、換言すれば「個人主義美学」の言説に疑問を投げかけ、3人の画家のみならず世紀末の近代美術の展開においてユートピア芸術論という「集団美学」が大きな役割を果たしていたことを明らかにし新しい近代芸術論の可能性を提唱した。