This is the exhibition of Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878), a representative landscape painter of 19th-century France, the first full-scale show in Japan. Daubigny drew ever-changing waterside scenery with a nimble touch; he became a forerunner for impressionist painters and greatly influenced the next generation of artists, including Monet and Van Gogh. This exhibition displays around 60 works by Daubigny, from his early days to his last years, and approximately 20 pieces by painters who were around him, including Corot, Courbet, Daumier, the Dupré brothers, and Daubigny’s son, Karl. The works displayed here come from various art museums and personal collections in Japan and overseas, many from the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims in France.

The Sompo Japan Fine Art Foundation established the “Shorei-Sho Award” (or the “Outstanding Rising Artists Award”) for emerging artists and the “Seiji Togo Memorial Museum Grand Prix Award” for established artists in 1977. Since then, the foundation has been organizing exhibitions of award winners. We decided to start a public entry competition called FACE (“Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Award”) to carry forward our 35-year mission of raising and supporting emerging artists. The 7th FACE exhibition saw the entry of many attractive works from 870 emerging artists throughout Japan. The jury members selected 71 works of international appeal through a process of time-consuming consideration. The Grand Prix Award work will become a part of our museum’s collection and shown at the next FACE exhibition as well. Also, one Grand Prix Award winner and three Excellent Work Award winners each year will exhibit their works at a group show of 12 artists to be held every three years. As our motto “The gateway to the art world regardless of age or affiliation” says, selected artists are from the ages of 8 to 74 and their career varies as well. We hope that this new competition will become an event that all emerging artists aspire to win and that this exhibition will continue to support artists for many years to come.

The public entry competition FACE established in 2013 is offering a gateway to the art world for up and coming artists regardless of their age or affiliation and many entries are received every year. A panel of judges, comprised of art critics, conducts a rigorous review to choose submitted works that have potential to receive global recognition in the future. Outstanding works are awarded prizes, including the Grand Prix Award and Excellent Work Awards. This exhibition brings together approximately 70 of the recent and new works of 11 artists who received the Grand Prix or Excellent Work Awards in the three years from 2016 to 2018. In addition, this exhibition displays the three works that were awarded the Grand Prix and became works of our permanent collection. By doing so, this exhibition reveals the true value of the works which capture the essence of the times, and explores how the paintings of the artists have evolved over time.