非西歐地區在邁向現代化的過程中，對於「美術」這個西歐概念的學習，乃是很重要的。然而，隨著現代化的深化，並不僅止於直接模仿西歐美術，而是努力以其為線索來試圖創造新的「傳統」。本文探討兩位日本西洋畫家—藤島武二與梅原龍三郎，藤島是官方組織中的重要人物，梅原長期在野，然而他們都以各自的方式，試圖從對法國美術的模仿中脫離。其共通點在於，他們的眼中並非只有法國，而在旅居義大利期間，能夠對歐洲的文化，從歷史與多元的觀點來加以認識。並且，在此後到朝鮮、臺灣、中國的旅行經驗中，獲得從歷史的脈絡來思考日本文化的線索。而基於此種體驗，他們嘗試追求日本獨特的油彩表現。

Acquiring the Western European concept of ＂art＂ is crucial to the modernization of non-Western European countries. However, as modernization deepens, direct imitation of Western European art becomes insufficient; instead, these countries strive to create new ＂tradition＂ based on Western European art. This paper focuses on discussing two Japanese Western painters, Fujushima Takeji and Umehara Ryuzaburo. Fujushima was an important figure in the official organization, whereas Umehara did not take positions in governmental institutions. Nevertheless, both attempted to liberate themselves from the imitation of French art in their own ways. Their commonality lies in that both artists looked beyond France and were able to understand European culture from a historic and diverse perspective during their sojourns in Italy. Furthermore, Fujushima and Umehara obtained historical contexts for reflecting on Japanese culture from their travels to Korea, Taiwan, and China. Based on these experiences, they endeavored to pursue the unique expressions of Japanese oil painting.