Hand

Greatly influenced by Auguste Rodin, Takamura Kotaro spent three years studying abroad in the United States, Britain, and France. While he never met Rodin, he thoroughly studied his techniques and popularized them in Japan. Like Rodin, who frequently made sculptural studies of hands, Takamura began around 1918 to produce sculptures depicting only hands or arms, not as mere studies but as fully realized works. A notable example is this sculpture of a left hand making the semui gesture often seen in Buddhist statuary. This work, one of Takamura’s most highly regarded, conveys the tension generated by isolating a body part, with a dramatically bent thumb and a palm outstretched as if seeking to achieve balance. (F.R.)