今月の彫刻

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日本語

戸張孤雁《虚無》

制作年：1920年（第7回院展出品）
素材：ブロンズ
サイズ：51.4 × 29.1 × 30.6 

戸張孤雁（とばり・こがん、1882~1927）は、東京に生まれ、二十歳のときに渡米しました。最初は絵画を学び、水彩や版画を数多く制作しましたが、次第に彫刻に力を入れるようになります。荻原守衛の彫刻観に強い影響を受け、ロダンの作風を追いながら、確かなモデリングによる密度の高い造形表現を築きました。大正から昭和初期にかけて活躍し、同時代の彫刻家・中原悌二郎とともに、日本近代彫刻を語るうえで欠かせない存在です。

作品の見どころ

《虚無》は、老人の姿を表した作品です。深く刻まれた顔のしわ、豊かなひげ、ゆったりとした衣服。どっしりとした身体の量感と、衣服が作り出す複雑な襞（ひだ）が、人物の重厚な存在感を生み出しています。細部まで丹念に表現された顔や手と、全身を包み込むような大きなフォルムとの対比も見どころです。

正面を向いて立つ姿には、ごまかしのきかない緊張感があります。

《虚無》が生まれた背景

小品の多い孤雁の彫刻のなかで、《虚無》は比較的大きな作品です。1920年の第7回院展に出品されました。

孤雁自身は、ここに表したのは頑迷そのものの化身のような老人であり、追い求めたのは自分自身の内に欠けている力強さや重々しさだったと語っています。正面から老人に向き合う姿勢には、孤雁の彫刻に対する態度もうかがえます。

作品名の《虚無》は、見る人にさまざまな問いを投げかけます。この老人は何を思い、どのような人生を歩んできたのでしょうか。

中原悌二郎の老人像と見比べる

中原悌二郎もまた、《老人》《墓守老人像》《乞食老人像》の三点で、老人を主題とした作品を制作しています。三点とも1階の展示室でご覧いただけます。同じ大正期に、二人の彫刻家は老人の身体に何を見いだしたのでしょうか。

見比べるポイント

• 衣服の質感
• 身体の量感
• 表情
• 全体のフォルム

2階の《虚無》と、1階の中原の三点を行き来しながら、戸張孤雁が造形した人物の存在感を味わってみてください。

English

TOBARI Kogan, Nihility

Year: 1920 (exhibited at the 7th Inten Exhibition)
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 51.4 × 29.1 × 30.6 cm (H × W × D)

About the Artist

Tobari Kogan (1882-1927) was born in Tokyo 

and traveled to the United States at the age of twenty. 

Initially studying painting, 

he produced numerous watercolors 

and prints before gradually turning his attention to sculpture. 

Strongly influenced by Ogiwara Morie’s approach to sculpture,

Kogan looked to Rodin, 

yet his works show dense,

richly worked forms achieved through assured modeling. 

Active during the Taisho era and into the early Showa period, 

he was an important figure in the development of modern Japanese sculpture, 

alongside his contemporary Nakahara Teijiro.

Highlights

Nihility depicts an elderly man. His deeply lined face, full beard, 

and loose-fitting robes create a powerful impression.

The solid mass of his body 

and the intricate folds of his clothing lend the figure a sense of weight and gravity. 

Notice also the contrast between the carefully modeled face 

and hands and the broad, encompassing form of the figure as a whole.

The old man’s direct, forward-facing pose allows little room for artifice, 

and seems to reveal Kogan’s own approach to sculpture.

Background to the Work

Among Kogan’s sculptures, many of which are small,

Nihility is a relatively large work. 

It was exhibited at the 7th Inten Exhibition in 1920.

Kogan described the figure as an elderly man who seemed the very embodiment of obstinacy. 

Through this old man,

he sought to express the strength and gravity that he felt were lacking in himself.

The title Nihility invites questions rather than offering answers.

What is this old man thinking? What kind of life has he lived?

Comparing the Work with Nakahara Teijiro’s Old Men

Nakahara Teijiro also took the elderly man as his subject,

in three works: Old Man, Bust of Aged Grave Keeper, 

and Bust of an Old Beggar. All three are on view in the first-floor gallery.

Working during the same Taisho era,

what did these two sculptors discover in the elderly men they portrayed? 

Although they shared a subject, did they approach it in the same way?

Points to Compare

• The texture and folds of the clothing
• The mass and volume of the body
• The expression of the face
• The overall form and presence of the figure

Move between Nihility on the second floor and Nakahara’s three works on the first floor.

By comparing their forms and expressions, 

consider how each sculptor gave shape to the presence of an elderly man.