Dawn

Watanabe Gaku was born and spent most of his life in Choshi, Chiba depicting daily life in Japanese-style paintings. With his 1952 work Kuroshio Current, he broke away from traditional styles, choosing instead to stylize his subjects, and using powerful lines and metal foil in many of his works. Dawn depicts the sea and a seafood processing site in Choshi with a distinctive composition that contrasts platinum foil with deep blue, evoking the tranquility of morning. Reflecting on Watanabe’s deep connection to Choshi, his eldest daughter, Yuriko, quoted her father in the catalogue for Chiba Prefectual Museum of Art Opening 30th Anniversary Exhibition: Portraying Fishermen – The World of Watanabe Gaku: “If the soil of this place is mingled with my blood, then I ought to be able to convey the lives of Choshi’s fishermen with all their vibrant emotions and sensations. These paintings are in way self-portraits.” (U.M.)