Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s inventive, humorous early works often included subtle color harmonies, simplified shapes, oddly proportioned figures and an eccentric handling of space and scale. His work became more sensuous and worldly after two long stays in Paris, as he painted moody, reflective women and still lifes with unusual objects.
About this Work
Kuniyoshi’s early drawings were often humorous, and his keen wit and interest in visual and verbal puns are evident in Remains of Lunch. This drawing unpretentiously displays the remnants of a light meal, with a demitasse spoon, cigarette butt, dollops of pear sauce, and a fluted, paper pastry cup. The artist’s widow noted that Kuniyoshi loved pears and pear sauce. Here he plays with the homonyms “pear” and “pair,” matching birds, leaves, and fruits along the border of the plate. The two pears at the top lean affectionately against each other. The ink field enclosing the composition resembles a stomach in which food is being digested.