Ragusa, Vincenzo

Japanese: ラグーザ - Ｒａｇｕｓａ，Ｖｉｎｃｅｎｚｏ

Year of death: 1927.3.13 (1927.3.13)
Born: July 8, 1841
An Italian sculptor who came to Japan during the Meiji period and introduced and taught modern Western-style sculpture to Japan. He was also a hired teacher. He was born near Palermo, Sicily, and studied at the Palermo School of Sculpture. In 1872, he entered "Decorative Fireplace" at the All-Italian Art Exhibition, winning the highest award and gaining recognition. In 1876 (Meiji 9), he came to Japan as a sculpture teacher at the Kobu Bijutsu Gakko after passing a selection conducted by the Italian government at the request of the Japanese government. He introduced new materials such as oil clay and plaster, and Western-style sculpture that emphasizes realism to Japan. During this time, he created bronze statues based on Japanese models, such as "Japanese Actor" (Ichikawa Danjūrō, Tokyo University of the Arts). In 1884, he returned to Japan with Tama Kiyohara, who would later become his wife, and her sister and her husband. In 1886, he founded an arts school in Palermo to teach Japanese crafts and became its principal, while also leaving behind many works, mainly portraits, such as the "Equestrian Statue of Garibaldi" that stands in a park in Palermo. After the abolition of the Kobu Bijutsu Gakko in 1883, there was no formal educational setting for Western-style sculpture in Japan until the Tokyo Fine Arts School (Tokyo University of the Arts) began teaching Western-style sculpture in 1899. However, the art remained alive thanks to students who admired Ragusa's kind guidance. <References> Kenjiro Sumimoto, "Research on Modern Japanese Art," Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, "Fontanesi, Ragusa and the Art Exhibition of the Early Meiji Period/Catalogue"

(Emiko Yamanashi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：1927.3.13(1927.3.13)
生年：1841.7.8
明治期に来日し,日本に近代洋風彫刻を紹介,指導したイタリア人彫刻家。お雇い教師。シチリア島パレルモ市近郊に生まれ,パレルモ塑造学校に学んだ。1872年,全イタリア美術展に「装飾暖炉」を出品して最高賞を受け,世に認められる。明治9(1876)年,日本政府の依頼によりイタリア政府が行った選抜を経て,工部美術学校彫刻科教師として来日。油土や石膏などの新素材と,写実を重んずる西洋風の彫刻を日本に伝えた。この間,「日本の俳優」(市川団十郎,東京芸大蔵)など日本人をモデルにしたブロンズ像を制作。1884年,のちに妻となる清原玉とその姉夫妻を伴って帰国。1886年パレルモに日本の工芸をも教授する工芸学校を創立してその校長となる一方,パレルモの公園に立つ「ガリバルディ騎馬像」など,肖像を中心に多くの作品を残した。明治16年の工部美術学校廃止以後,32年に東京美術学校(東京芸大)で洋風彫刻を教えるようになるまで,日本の洋風彫刻には正式な教育の場がなかったが,その命脈は,ラグーザの親身の指導を慕った弟子たちによって保たれた。<参考文献>隅元謙次郎『近代日本美術の研究』,東京国立近代美術館『フォンタネージ,ラグーザと明治前期の美術展/図録』

(山梨絵美子)

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