28/11/2025
Birds of Passage - Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Art Gallery of Queensland
Born in Paris, in 1896, Jacoulet moved with his parent’s to Tokyo, Japan, at the age of three. His French parents insisted on Jasoulet attending a local primary school, which was unusual for the time and enabled him to grow up immersed in Japanese culture. As a child, Jasoutet was tutored in art, music and languages, including calligraphy and Japanese uklye-e painting. In 1929, aged 33, Jacoulet set out on the first of many journeys to the Pacific, later extending his travels to China and Korea. During these voyages, he sketched local people going about their daily lives, returning to Tokyo with huntreds of drawings and watercolours, later forming the basis of his prints.
His study of people from his travels are appreciated for their fluid linework, exquisite colours, facial expressions, and detailed observation of body adornments and clothing.
He died in 1980, but his prints still surprise us with their synthesis of European and Japanese creative tradition.
