Title:
Topaz Hospital
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
6/1/1943
Identifier:
96.601.11
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of an elderly man watching children playing inside a fenced in area. There are barracks and
a mountain in the background.
Historical Note:
This painting is slightly ambiguous in its composition and meaning. It is entitled "Topaz Hospital" yet there is nothing
within the painting that makes explicit reference to such a building. Presumably the structure in the background is the hospital.
Thus, despite the title of this painting what takes precedence are the figures in the foreground. A man stands stiffly at
the left, clasping his hands behind him looking towards a huddled trio of figures seated at the right. They appear to be
sitting on something within a space enclosed by a few short poles and wire or rope. Who these figures are meant to be and
what they might be doing is unclear. The building in the distance seems to have a tall chimney. Behind that is the mountain
range which frames many of Hibi's landscapes.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | man | children | playground | barracks | mountain