The Three Wise Monkeys, Bronze Circa 1925, Yuhachi Ikeda (1886-1962) #738

Yuhachi IKEDA is a Japanese sculptor born in 1886 in Kagawa Prefecture. He first studied at the Kotohira School of Crafts and then joined the sculpture class of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts as a student of Asakura FUMIO. He regularly participated in official exhibitions where his talent was recognized. In particular, he won first prize at the 1909 Bunten exhibition for his sculpture Cheval. He worked mainly in wood and bronze to represent animals, particularly horses. This earned him the nickname “Yuhachi the Horse” throughout the country. For example, he made statues of the imperial horses of the emperors Meiji, Taisho and Showa as well as the imperial family. From 1919, he made several trips to Korea and China to study Buddhist statues. The Japanese government commissioned him to create models of animals that had distinguished themselves in military conflicts, as part of a major campaign to reward war animals for their assistance and exploits from 1933. In addition, he participated in the art competition for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932 and in 1936 in Berlin. In Los Angeles, he exhibited “Three Months” and “The Horse Race at Kamo”. In Berlin, he exhibited “Japanese Polo” and “Joy on the Field”. A large part of his models were damaged or even destroyed at the end of the Second World War. In the years following the end of the war, he concentrated on line wood sculpture due to a lack of raw materials. His first solo exhibition after the Second World War was held in Tokyo and entitled “50 Years with Horses”. He held more than 20 solo exhibitions during his life. In addition, he sculpted several animal statues for the decoration of public spaces. He died in 1963. That same year, after his death, a retrospective exhibition of his work was organized in Tokyo entitled: “60 years of animal sculpture exhibition”. The sculptor had expressed during his lifetime the desire to organize this exhibition which traces his career and testifies to his passion for animals to which he devoted his entire career.
A certificate and an illustrated note on the artist will be given to the purchaser.
Supplied with its original box.