Portrait of an artist in the context of the era: Saeki Yuzo

The study aims to recreate the portrait of the Japanese artist Saeki Yuzo (1898-1928), a representative of the “yoga” movement, in the context of his contemporary era. The author addresses the transformation of the Japanese art community of the Meiji and Taisho eras, identifies the peculiarities of formation of the “yoga” and “nihonga” painting trends in Japanese art, considers the main periods of Saeki Yuzo’s life and creative work (the first Paris period, the creation of Italian watercolors, return to Japan, the second Paris period). The paper is novel in that it is the first to determine how the traditions of the East and the West are interpreted in the works of the artist. As a result, the author substantiates the thesis that Saeki Yuzo was a follower in the context of European art and an innovator at home; the artist’s contribution marked a new stage in Japanese modernism – the transition from impressionism to Fauvist expressionism.