Kawase Hasui Figurative Prints

A fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe 6mm round seal indicating a lifetime impression printed between 1945 - 1957. Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Image size 14 1/4 x 9 3/8 inches (362 x 238 mm); sheet size 15 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches (391 x 264 mm). An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation. ABOUT THE ARTIST “I do not paint subjective impressions. My work is based on reality...I can not falsify...(but) I can simplify…I make mental impressions of the light and color at the time of sketching. While coloring the sketch, I am already imagining the effects in a woodblock print.” — Kawase Hasui Hasui Kawase (1883–1957) is the most celebrated Japanese print designer of the shin-hanga ('new prints') movement. His prints, produced under the guidance and discerning eye of his publisher, Watanabe Shozaburo, represent the modern legacy of the renowned 19th-century Ukiyo-e masters Hiroshige and Hokusai. Hasui was able to evoke the fleeting beauty of Japan during the interwar period as no other printmaker of his time could. Hasui's work enjoyed huge popularity upon producing his first print in 1918. Watanabe recognized and developed the enormous potential of the American market, resulting in Hasui's prints achieving high prices at auctions in New York as early as the 1920s. After the Second World War, his prints became highly sought-after collectible works among the American occupying forces in Japan. Hasui designed more than 600 prints during the 40-year span of his artistic career, and in 1956, he was named a 'Living National Treasure' of Japan. Hasui’s woodblock...

Kiyomizu Temple in the Snow - Woodblock Print A spectacular woodblock print by Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883-1957), depicting a serene wintery balcony with two women under umbrellas in the falling snow at the Kiyomizu Temple (Temple of Pure Waters). One of the most celebrated temples in Japan, the temple was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall among the wooded hills to the east of Kyoto - the temple's name based on the fall's crystalline waters. Publisher: Doi Hangaten Artist's seal and signature in lower right corner. Presented in a new white mat. Paper size: 15.63"H x 10.25"W (ôban size with raw top edge) Mat size: 24"H x 20"W Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883 -1957) was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like many earlier ukiyo-e prints, Hasui's works were commonly landscapes, but displayed atmospheric effects and natural lighting. Hasui designed approximately 620 prints over a career that spanned nearly forty years. Towards the end of his life the government recognized him as a Living National Treasure for his contribution to Japanese culture. From youth Hasui dreamed of an art career. His maternal uncle was Kanagaki Robun (1829–94), a Japanese author and journalist, who produced the first manga magazine. Hasui went to the school of the painter Aoyagi Bokusen as a young man. He sketched from nature, copied the masters' woodblock prints, and studied brush painting with Araki Kanyu. His parents had him take on the family rope and thread wholesaling business, but its bankruptcy when he was 26 freed him to pursue art. He approached Kiyokata Kaburagi to teach him, but Kaburagi instead encouraged him to study Western-style painting, which he did with Okada Saburōsuke...

A very fine, atmospheric impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Hasui' with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the Watanabe 6mm round seal indicating a lifetime impression printed between 1945 - 1957. An impression of this work is in the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation. ABOUT THE ARTIST Hasui Kawase...

A fine, lifetime impression, with fresh colors, in very good condition. Signed 'Hasui' in ink, with the artist’s seal 'Kawase', lower left. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo with the 6...