National Museum of Western Art facts for kids
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Its logo and National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo designed by Le Corbusier
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| Official name | Musée National des Beaux-Arts de l’Occident |
| Location | 7-7 Ueno Imperial Grant Park, Taitō, Tokyo, Japan |
| Part of | The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i), (ii), (vi) |
| Inscription | 2016 (40th Session) |
| Area | 0.93 ha (0.0036 sq mi) |
| Buffer zone | 116.17 ha (0.4485 sq mi) |
The National Museum of Western Art (also called NMWA) is a famous art museum in Japan. It focuses on art from Western countries. You can find it in Ueno Park in Tokyo, which is a big park with other museums and a zoo.
In 2016, over a million people visited the museum! It's a great place to see amazing art from Europe and America.
Contents
History of the Museum
The NMWA opened its doors on June 10, 1959. It was created around a special art collection owned by a man named Kōjirō Matsukata (1865–1950). He was an industrialist who loved art.
Matsukata wanted to create a national museum just for Western art. He bought many artworks with this goal in mind. The museum shows art from the Renaissance period all the way to the early 1900s.
Since it opened, the NMWA has been Japan's only national museum dedicated to Western art. It helps people learn about art through exhibitions, research, and by taking care of artworks.
Cool Exhibitions
The museum often puts on special art shows every year. These shows feature artworks borrowed from other museums and private collections around the world.
In 1963, the NMWA hosted a huge show of works by the artist Marc Chagall. It brought together 450 of his artworks from 15 different countries! It was one of the biggest shows of his art ever.
In 2020, the museum was set to host a big exhibition from the National Gallery, London. This show would include over 60 paintings. One of the most exciting paintings was Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers. It was the first time this famous painting traveled to Japan.
Art Collections
The NMWA buys new artworks every year to grow its permanent collection. The museum now has about 4,500 pieces. These include paintings and sculptures from the 14th century up to the early 20th century.
Paintings: Old Masters
The main building shows paintings from before the 18th century. You can see works by artists like Veronese, Rubens, and Fragonard. Many of these old paintings show religious stories from Christianity.
Paintings: 19th and 20th Centuries
The newer part of the museum displays French paintings from the 1800s and early 1900s. Here you'll find art by famous names such as Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Gauguin. There are also works by later artists like Picasso and Miró.
Drawings and Prints
The museum also has a collection of drawings. These are mostly by French artists from the 18th and 19th centuries, like Boucher and Cézanne.
The prints collection includes works by artists such as Dürer, Rembrandt, and Goya. These prints date from the 15th century to the early 1900s.
Le Corbusier's Special Building
The main building of the museum was designed by a famous Swiss-French architect named Charles-Édouard Jeanneret. He is known all over the world for his modern buildings. This museum is his only building in East Asia.
The building was finished in March 1959. It was a symbol of friendship between Japan and France after World War II.
How the Building Came to Be
The museum was built to hold the art collection of Kōjirō Matsukata. His collection was kept in England and France during the war. After the war, Japan asked France to return the art. France agreed, but only if a French architect designed the museum. Le Corbusier was chosen for this important job.
Le Corbusier even planned for the area around the museum. He wanted the building to be able to grow in the future.
Japanese Help with the Design
Le Corbusier asked three of his Japanese students to help him. Their names were Kunio Maekawa, Junzo Sakakura, and Takamasa Yoshizaka. They helped create the detailed plans and watched over the building's construction.
Inside the Building
The museum building is shaped like a square. The main art galleries are raised up on columns, like stilts, on the first floor. When you enter, you go into a tall hall. From there, a ramp leads you up to the painting galleries. This ramp gives you great views of Rodin's sculptures.
The painting galleries wrap around the central hall. Le Corbusier designed them to use natural light, but now they use artificial lights. The building uses strong concrete and has a smooth finish. It opened on June 10, 1959, after more than two years of work.
The Modulor System
Le Corbusier used a special system called the "Modulor" for every part of the building. This system is based on the size and proportions of the human body. It helped him design the building so that everything felt right and comfortable for people. It's like a musical scale that helps create harmony.
Updates to the Building
Over the years, parts of the museum have been added. A lecture hall and offices were built in 1964. A new annex was added in 1979. In 1998, the museum even got new foundations to make it stronger against earthquakes.
World Heritage Site
The museum building is very important. In 2005, it was recognized as one of Japan's top modern buildings.
In 2016, UNESCO listed 17 buildings by Le Corbusier as World Heritage Sites. The National Museum of Western Art building was one of them! This means it's considered a very important cultural site for the whole world.
How to Get There
JU JK JY JJ G H Ueno Station (by JR East and Tokyo Metro)- JK JY Uguisudani Station (by JR East)
- KS Keisei Ueno Station (by Keisei Electric Railway)
Collection gallery - paintings
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Collection gallery - sculptures
See also
- List of artists represented in the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
- List of Independent Administrative Institutions (Japan)
