Beautiful Harmony

The Pola Museum of Art has a large collection of paintings of the female figure dating from the latter half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Renoir’s painting of a young girl portrays a dreamy expression and popular fashion of the time. Fujishima Takeji and Umehara Ryuzaburo, after returning from study in Europe, turned their attention to features of Japanese and Asian female beauty. Whether European or Asian, however, the female images and nudes emphasize graceful bodylines and soft skin.

Exploring the theme of ‘beauty,’ we have selected outstanding examples of distinctive portraits and cosmetic utensils from the Pola collection. We hope you will enjoy the harmony created in the depictions of the natural ‘beauty’ of the human body, of human facial expressions, and of fashion.

Degas’s Ballet

A Symphony of Flowers

This section introduces paintings and glasswork depicting flowers.
A passion for gardening swept Europe in the latter half of the 19th century. For Emile Gallé, who observed many types of flowers that he himself cultivated, the subject of flowers was a life-long motif. He found and gave expression to the beauty of flowers in full bloom, but also that of flowers in stages of natural decay. Claude Monet, who created his own garden and lily pond at Giverny, tirelessly depicted the differing expressions, depending on the season and time of day, of the water lilies and the surface of the water.
In contrast Odilon Redon often depicted flowers not found in reality. His strangely shaped flowers might have green petals or pink leaves, or seem to defy gravity with floating extended stems and fantasy shapes.