'Bullfinch on a Flowering Plum Tree' — Japanese kacho-e, c. 1900

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Ohara Koson
'Bullfinch on a Flowering Plum Tree' — Japanese kacho-e, c. 1900
c. 1900

About the Item

'Bullfinch on a Flowering Plum Tree', color woodblock, c. 1900. Signed 'Koson with the artist's red seal 'Koson'. A fine impression, with pronounced woodgrain and fresh colors, on cream, wove Japan paper; the full sheet in excellent condition. Stamped 'MADE IN JAPAN' in the bottom right margin, verso. Published by Daikokuya. Image size 13 7/16 x 7 1/4 inches (341 x 184 mm); sheet size 14 3/8 x 7 1/2 inches (365 x 191 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Literature: 'Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson', Newland, Amy R.: Jan Perree & Robert Schaap, Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2001, pg 173. Collections: National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian), Smart Museum of Chicago (University of Chicago). ABOUT THE ARTIST Koson Ohara (also Shoson and Hoson, 1877-1945) is the most renowned Japanese artist of early 20th-century kacho-e (bird-and-flower pictures) woodblock printmaking. With meticulous detail, sensitive color, and a palpable reverence for flora and fauna, Koson brought the genre into the modern era. Koson was born in Kanazawa with the given name Matao Ohara. He began his artistic career studying painting under the Shijo-style master Kason. Around the turn of the century, Koson became a teacher at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, where he met Ernest Fenollosa, an American collector, scholar, and admirer of Japanese art and culture. Around 1905, Koson started to produce woodblock prints. Fenollosa, the curator of Japanese Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and an adviser to the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, persuaded Koson to export his bird prints to American art collectors. Between 1900 and 1912, Koson worked with several different publishers and designed a series of Russo-Japanese War prints, as well as genre landscapes, but his passion remained with kacho-e. His earliest and rarest designs are notable for their narrow formats and soft colors. All his woodblock prints were signed or sealed Koson—most of them published by Kokkeido and Daikokuya. After 1912, he changed his name to Shoson and dedicated himself to painting. Ten years later, Koson returned to printmaking, and in 1926, he began designing woodblock prints for the esteemed Shin Hanga publisher Shozaburo Watanabe. Koson changed his name once again, this time to Hoson, when he produced designs collaboratively published by Sakai and Kawaguchi around 1930. He also served as an adviser to the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. Koson’s prints can be found in many major museums worldwide, including the British Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Freer Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, LACMA collections, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Creator:
Ohara Koson (1877 - 1945, Japanese)
Creation Year:
c. 1900
Dimensions:
Height: 13.44 in (34.14 cm)Width: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)
Medium:
Woodcut
Movement & Style:
Naturalistic
Period:
1900-1909
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Myrtle Beach, SC
Reference Number:
Seller: 981851stDibs: LU532311189302