安井曽太郎
銀化せる鯛
1953（昭和28）年 油彩･カンヴァス 65.0×54.0cm
Sotaro Yasui
Silverized Sea Bream
1953 (Showa 28), Oil on canvas, 65.0 × 54.0 cm
銀色の鯛が真上から堂々とした構図でとらえられています。安井はお正月に知人からもらったこの新鮮な鯛を、別の角度から鮮やかな色彩で描いています。その後、再びこの鯛を描き始めた安井は、5月までアトリエに置き続けました。はじめ赤々としていた鯛は、腐敗してすっかり｢干物｣になっていたといいます。安井はそのときのことを次のように述べています。｢（略）油繪で鯛ははじめてだつたので、仲々豫定通りに進行せず、一日一日とのびて行き、とうとう一月以上かゝり、モデルは干物になつてしまつた。干物になつた鯛は亦美しかつた。立派な銀の彫刻の樣にも見えた｣。安井は描き終わった鯛を｢何んだか可哀想の樣な氣がし｣、家族とともにお皿ごと山の中に埋葬したといいます。
The silver sea bream is captured in a majestic composition from directly above. Yasui painted this fresh sea bream, which he received from a friend during the New Year, with vivid colors from a different angle. Later, Yasui began painting the sea bream again and kept it in his studio until May. The sea bream, which was initially bright red, had decayed and completely turned into a "dried fish." Yasui described the experience as follows: "Since it was my first time painting a sea bream in oil, it didn't progress as planned, and day by day, it took longer and longer, eventually taking over a month, and the model turned into a dried fish. The dried sea bream was also beautiful. It looked like a magnificent silver sculpture." Yasui felt "somehow sorry" for the sea bream after finishing the painting and buried it in the mountains with his family, plate and all.