Realized with the guidance of UNIQLO. Residents of the Louvre drawn with the lines of Osamu Nagaba. | feature

There must be something that can be gleaned from the condensed version.

I was wondering if you could tell us what kind of picture you were thinking of painting when you were approached about this collaboration with the Louvre Museum in France.

Longer Lengths:I thought that in order to convey my style and the interest of my lines, it was important to choose a motif. So I decided to start with a motif that is well known to everyone. The first motif I chose was the "Mona Lisa," and I thought it would be interesting to show how I interpreted it in my own way to create a painting like this. Then I chose works that everyone knows, such as "The Nike of Samothrace" and "Venus de Milo.

I heard that you have painted "Mona Lisa" in the past.

Longer Lengths:Yes, that's right. So I submitted a drawing I did once upon a time to the Louvre, and it was unexpectedly rejected. (Laughs) . This is the picture I drew on this piece of paper.

Longer Lengths:After receiving the answer from the Louvre, I redid the painting again. The Mona Lisa was quite a challenge.

Was there a lot of requests from the Louvre?

Longer Lengths:. asked me to draw a piece of artwork that combines a painting and text. The finished piece has the name of the work written on it, but at first I suggested that I would like to include the year the work was produced or the year it was in our collection. However, when I looked into it, I found that many of them were unknown, so I had to give up on the idea. So only the title remained. However, with the exception of "Mona Lisa," many of the works were readily accepted.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most popular works in the Louvre, isn't it?

Longer Lengths:. Because of that, I think the Louvre side had something they could not compromise on. We could have brushed it off, but we both wanted to work happily and make a mutually satisfying collaboration, so we enjoyed the process of painting while exploring how the other side would come up with a solution.

UT Louvre Museum × Yu Nagaba Graphic T-shirt (Mona Lisa) ¥1,500 Inspired by Mona Lisa - Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo / Leonardo DA VINCI / 1503-1519
© Musée du Louvre
©2022 Yu Nagaba

UT Louvre Museum x Osamu Nagaba Graphic T-shirt (Nike of Samothrace) ¥1,500 Inspired by the Winged Victory of Samothrace / Hellenistic Art (C. 190 BC), Island of Samothrace (northern Aegean)
© Musée du Louvre
©2022 Yu Nagaba

UT Louvre Museum x Osamu Nagaba Graphic T-shirt (Astronomer) ¥1,500 Inspired by The Astronomer / Johannes VERMEER / 1668
© Musée du Louvre
©2022 Yu Nagaba

UT Louvre Museum × Yu Nagaba Graphic T-shirt ¥1,500 Inspired by: Mona Lisa / Leonardo DA VINCI
Aphrodite, known as the "Vénus de Milo"
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
La Grande Odalisque / Jean-Auguste-Dominique INGRES
La Belle Jardinière / Raffaello SANTI, known as Raphael
The Astronomer / Johannes VERMEE
The Great Sphinx of Tanis
Louvre Pyramid © I.M. Pei
©2022 Yu Nagaba

Have you actually been to the Louvre?

Longer Lengths:When I was 20 years old, I toured around Europe, including France and Italy , like a backpacker. I went there only once at that time.

Did your memories of that time help you?

Longer Lengths:That is one of the reasons. My great-grandfather's brother was Shihokichi Sawaki, who introduced Western art to Japan as a scholarly pursuit. He introduced works in the Louvre, such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, to Japan. . When I received this job, I suddenly remembered Shikibokichi-san and started reading his books again.

Do you think your works are different from others because of the simplicity of the lines you draw, or is it because of the wisdom you accumulate?

Longer Lengths:When I am in the mood, I can draw a good line. . I wanted to bring out the knowledge, etc. that I had absorbed there. As I mentioned earlier, I want to reduce the number of lines, but I do not want to simply reduce the number of lines; there must be something that can be taken from the condensed version. I think that is where the interest and richness of a painting resides. I want people to feel that.

. It seems difficult to determine which lines to pick up and which lines to cut down.

Longer Lengths:Yes, I do. I try to make the best use of the characteristic parts of the motifs I have chosen. On the other hand, I cut off the parts that I feel are not necessary.