Lecture: Watanabe Kazan: Painter, Patriot, and Prisoner

April 13, 2004

Lecture: Watanabe Kazan: Painter, Patriot, and Prisoner
Donald Keene (Professor Emeritus, Columbia University)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. and Amsterdam Ave.)
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Watanabe Kazan (1793-1841) was the first successful Japanese portraitist in the Western style, but in his day he was even more renowned for traditional paintings in the Chinese manner. Although a high-ranking samurai, he lived in poverty most of his life and painted mainly in order to earn desperately needed income. His growing interest in the West led to his imprisonment, his abiding belief in Confucian ideals led to suicide. Professor Keene will speak about his forthcoming book about this painter.