Taiso Yoshitoshi
April: Otsuyu of Yanagibashi in Wisteria Arbor at Kameido
1880

Name: April: Otsuyu of Yanagibashi in Wisteria Arbor at Kameido
Brand: Taiso Yoshitoshi
Price: 1400 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

April: Otsuyu of Yanagibashi in Wisteria Arbor at Kameido Color woodcut, 1880 From the series: "Pride of Tokyo's Twelve Months" (Tokyo jiman juni kagetsu) Signed and sealed lower right (see photo) Format: Oban Publisher: Inoue Engravers: Katata Hori Cho Very fine impression and color Built in 1662, Kameido Shrine is still home to the annual Fuji Matsuri or Wisteria Festival, where visitors can enjoy traditional Japanese musical performances. Reference: Keyes, Series 426, No. 04 Provenance: Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878-1973) noted printmaker and friend of the artist TAISO YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892) Taiso Yoshitoshi was born in the city of Edo (now Tokyo) just before Japan’s violent transformation from a medieval to a modern society. In the mid 19th century pressures from the United States and Europe brought an end to Japan’s two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. In 1868 a pivotal period began known as the Meiji Restoration. It was marked by the return of Imperial power, heightened militarism, a new constitution and industrial advancement, as well as social and political reform. In the midst of shifting values, woodblock print artists like Yoshitoshi struggled to create images that would satisfy the public’s changing tastes. During the Edo period (1600-1868) woodblock prints, or Ukiyo-e (literally “pictures of the floating world”), became one of the most popular and inexpensive visual art forms in Japan. Published in the cities, visitors bought them as souvenirs and gifts from markets and street peddlers and returned with them to remote villages. From the time the first monochrome prints were published in the 1600s, Ukiyo-e represented a unique collaboration between the publisher, the artists and the public. The rising or diminishing interests of the urban merchant class largely dictated the choice of subject matter in woodblock prints. Yoshitoshi’s confrontation with the savagery and violence of his times, especially early on in his career, was exorcised through a prolific and bloody series of prints depicting battling warriors, demons and murderers. Later in his career, however, Yoshitoshi’s work took on a distinctive stylistic change. By the 1880s, he was experimenting freely with western concepts of space, perspective and dissonant color combinations. His treatment of movement and facial features reflected a more studied and quiet observation of the human form and emotions. While continuing to choose native themes for his prints, Yoshitoshi’s approach to creating individualized portraits of townspeople, farmers, courtesans and warriors was innovative and groundbreaking. However, by the end of the Meiji Period (1868-1912), the increasing popularity of photography and lithography nearly eclipsed the public’s interest in woodblock prints. Yoshitoshi stood alone as the last great master of Ukiyo-e. Biography courtesy International Folk Art

Creator:

Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892, Japanese)

Creation Year:

1880

Dimensions:

Height: 13.75 in (34.93 cm)Width: 9.63 in (24.47 cm)

Medium:

Woodcut

Period:

1880-1889

Condition:

Gallery Location: