Archive for December, 2009

Otto Dix

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

<> <>

  • ottodix

  • Skull ottoskull

    Portrait of Sylvia von Harden otto_dix_sy_von_harden1 1926
    ( youtube video about her here.) – She was a poet rather than a journalist.

    Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker. Noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and of the brutality of war, he, along with George Grosz, is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit. (Wiki)

    Takeda Shingen & Kagemusha

    Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

    Kagemusha (影武者?) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. The title (which literally translates to “Shadow Warrior” in Japanese) is a term used for an impersonator. It is set in the Warring States era of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan. The warlord whom the kagemusha impersonates is based on daimyo Takeda Shingen and the climactic 1575 Battle of Nagashino.

    Kagemusha 1980 trailer here

    Shingen Takeda kuniyoshi2 by Kuniyoshi

    More image of Shingen

    Takeda Shingen (武田信玄?) (December 1, 1521 – May 13, 1573) of Kai Province was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.

    During Edo period, 24 retainers who served under Shingen were chosen as a popular topic for Ukiyo-e and Bunraku.

    Who is Utagawa Kuniyoshi?