You live, you learn. That is how I felt when I visited Ueno Royal Museum at Ueno Park in December to see the “Fear in Painting” exhibit.
For me, I wanted to see Paul Delaroche’s renown painting, “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey,” one of the most prized works in the collection of the National Gallery in London, which traveled to Japan for the first time.
I knew the exhibit was popular but having no problem attending any art exhibit in Japan and having waited over two months in hoping the crowds would not be as fully packed, I went on a weekday but unfortunately I learned the hard way. I should have gone a few hours earlier (these photos were taken around 11:00 a.m.).
The “Fear in Painting” exhibit had one of the longest lines I have seen and experienced for an art exhibit in Tokyo.
But because I was on a strict time schedule that day and dedicating the entire morning for Ueno, I wish I went 2-3 hours earlier if I knew the lines would extend so far into the park.
But I couldn’t help but be happy by all this. Not the long line (and missing the exhibit) but seeing the love and support for art in general.
As a person who visits a lot of art exhibits, I couldn’t help but be in awe of how many people came out, in the third month of the “Fear in Painting Exhibit” at the Ueno Royal Museum.
The art exhibit is based on the bestselling book “Fear in Painting” (2007) by Kyoko Nakano, a scholar of German literature and a art historian.
The exhibition is commemorating the tenth anniversary of the publication featuring a new selection of works which was presented, based around a numerous pieces introduced in Nakano’s book.
Assisted by various hints, this exhibition encouraged one to let their imagination help you in understanding the fear depicted in these works, so one would be able to visualize and enter the world of each painting.
The exhibition took years to prepare and would feature the gathering of major work from international art institutions but is a rarity to see something so fascinating yet unusual in Japan. The exhibit features 80 major oil paintings and 50 lithographs and prints, many which have never been seen in Japan before.
Featuring 80-pieces by primarily Victorian-era artists including pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse and illustrator Aubrey Bearsley. Including titles by J.M.W. Turner, Gustave Moreau, Paul Cezanne and others.
The exhibition featured six chapters: Mythology and the Bible; Devils, Hell and Monsters; Other Worlds and Visions; The Real World, The Sublime Landscapes; and History.
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, an oil painting by Paul Delaroche (1833)
One of the brilliant art paintings exhibited was “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey”, an oil painting completed in 1833 by Paul Delaroche.
The painting is featured at the National Gallery in London and for the first time, the painting traveled to east for this exhibit.
Believe it or not but this painting while popular for many decades after it was created, was kept in storage because 20th century realist historical paintings were in favor. The painting was kept in storage and was thought as lost for many decades until it was restored and displayed again in 1975.
After King Edward’s death, 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey was the Queen of England and Ireland from July 10 through July 19, 1553. While King Edward wrote in his will that Jane and her male heirs were successors tot he crown, primarily because his half-sister Mary was Roman Catholic and Jane was Protestant and would support the reformed Church of England, Mary would receive support, while Jane’s supporters abandoned her.
The Privy Council proclaimed Mary as the queen on July 19, 1553 and deposed of Lady Jane. Her primary supporter, the Duke of Northumberland was accused of treason and executed a month later. Jane who was held as a prisoner at the Tower was convicted of high treason in November 1553, which the sentence was death. While Mary spared her life, Jane was seen as a threat to the crown and Jane and her husband were executed on February 12, 1553.
Before she was beheaded, Jane recited Psalm 51 (“Have mercy upon me, O God”) and her last words were the last words of Jesus as recounted by Luke (“Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit”).
Jane would become a Protestant martyr for centuries.
Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus by John Williams Waterhouse (1891)
Another one I wanted to see was “Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus” (note: Romans use the word “Ulysses” not “Odysseus”, so you will see both names used for this piece).
In Homer’s “Odyssey”, Circe drugged her victims using sorcery. She invited Odysseus’ crew to feast on cheese and meal sweetened with honey and the wine was laced with a magical potion that would make them drunk and she can turn them into swine.
In the painting, you can see Circe offering the cup of wine to Odysseus (he is featured on the mirror reflection), while one of the men turned to swine (one of Odysseus’ crew members) is seen by her foot.
Fortunately for Odysseus, he was warned by Eurylochus who never entered Circe’s mansion. And the messenger god, Hermes, told Odysseus to use the herb moly to resist her sorcery.
And of course, there are many works of art that I wanted to see…the whole exhibit I wanted to see. But again, “you live, you learn”.
While I was a bit bummed out that I was unable to see “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” up close, seeing the long lines for this exhibit made me content that while it may seem that in today’s modern world, that there are not enough people who have a deep appreciation of 19th century art, seeing this turnout in the final weeks of the exhibit on a weekday was surreal but also very cool!
