1955
Starting in 1940, Felice Rix-Ueno and her husband collaborated on horizontal scrolls; he wrote the texts, and she created the accompanying illustrations. These works often depicted scenes from Manchuria, where Isaburo Ueno was stationed as a civil engineer during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
One particularly fascinating example is a nearly two-meter-wide scroll painted solely by Felice, which depicts the Christmas market (Christkindlmarkt) in Vienna. It features colorful market stalls, chestnut vendors, Kramperl (St. Nicolas’ less friendly servant), and the sale of Christmas trees. This piece is a nostalgic reflection of her childhood and youth, rendered in a somewhat naive, folk-art style. Here, the intersection of two cultures becomes evident: the Japanese art format is used to explore a beloved Austrian theme, allowing the artist to create what could be described as a “never-ending story,” unfolding continuously as the scroll is unrolled. (hs)
