Oiran (courtisan) 1876
Takahashi Yuichi is the undisputed champion of the early oilpaint pioneers in Meiji Japan. To a certain extent he reminds me of Vincent van Gogh. Takahashi had the same monomaniac obsessiveness and doggedness in following his ideals and like van Gogh actively used the written word to express his ideas as a painter. But Takahashi was more ready to compromise with the reality of life and a nicer person to live with. Convinced of the importance of the new way of painting he founded his own Western painting school. He also took the initiative to establish the first art magazine of Japan. During the Bakufu period and the early Meiji period he played a significant role in the development of modern painting.
However at the end of his long life, Takahashi's name as an artist was virtually non existent. He had done his work as a pioneer but did not receive any credits from his contemporaries.
A new draft of painters like Kuroda and his followers took over artistic power. Unlike Takahashi they had acquired their knowledge and skills in Europe at first hand from European painters.
Introduced by Kuroda, " plein air" painting with a much lighter (violet) palette became the new norm in modern Japanese painting and the more dark (brownish) palette Takahashi used was out of date.
In recent years art historians increasingly recognize the major role of Takahashi Yuichi played in the development of modern Japanese painting.