河边之舞 巴里のアメリカ人

Artist: Wada Makoto
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Approximately 40 × 50 cm (estimated)
Type of Work: Painting
Curatorial Note: Added by Curator on October 6, 2024
Related Items: Japanese Folk Art Movement, Naive Art Collection

This lively creation is a prime example of the colorful naive art style that is known for its distorted perspective, vivid color schemes, and deliberately simplified figures, and which joyfully depicts the common life. The work shows a couple dancing by the river, thus mirroring both leisure and stylishness of the time.

The man in a red-and-white candy-striped blazer, white pants, and a straw boater hat is dancing with a lady in a yellow skirt and red top, the ribbon on her hat seems to be waving because of the movement. In front of them, there is a very schematic riverside village—brown and ochre houses with evenly spaced windows and chimney stacks—acting as an abstract setting. The bright green strip of trees separates the buildings from the river that is painted in different shades of purple Wada’s bold and melodious use of non-realistic colors to suggest mood rather than exact depiction is here clearly visible.

Signature: “Wada Makoto” appears in white lettering at the upper left corner.