Google Doodle honors Kuroda Seiki, Japanese painter who championed Western techniques

Google's Doodle on August 9, 2022 commemorated Japanese painter Kuroda Seiki, recognized for introducing Western art theory to Japan. Born in 1866 in Takamibaba, Satsuma Domain (now Kagoshima Prefecture), he was adopted by his uncle and moved to Tokyo. At age 18, he traveled to Paris where painters Yamamoto Hosui and Fuji Masazo, along with dealer Tadamasa Hayashi, influenced his shift toward professional painting. Kuroda studied in France under Raphaël Collin and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, mastering oil painting techniques. Returning to Japan in 1893, he aligned with Meiji-era modernization and cross-cultural artistic exchange. In Tokyo, he co-founded the White Horse Society, an association promoting Western styles, named after a favored rice wine brand. His practice included plein air painting. Despite criticism—one detractor claimed admirers had 'poor eyesight'—and controversy over his nude work Morning Toilette, which was later destroyed in World War II, Kuroda achieved institutional prominence. He became an imperial court painter in 1910, was named a viscount in 1917, and served as president of the Imperial Art Academy. Kuroda died in 1924, leaving a legacy as the 'Grand Old Man' of Western painting in Japan.