Description
Beautiful kuchi-e (口絵) woodblock print made in 1906 by the artist Mizuno Toshikata (水野年方) as a frontispiece of the novel “Iyosudare” (伊予簾), or the fine bamboo blinds of Iyo, published in vol. 12 n. 11 of the famous literary magazine Bungei Kurabu (文芸倶楽部). In the foreground, a young woman with hair and clothes ruffled by the breath of a pleasant summer breeze.
Mizuno Toshikata (1866 – 1908), a pupil of Tsukiyoka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年), was a traditional genre painter much appreciated by his contemporaries. Active especially in the production of front pages for novels, as well as woodcuts depicting historical subjects and beautiful women, he gathered around him and formed young talents such as Kiyokata Kaburagi (鏑木清方). Member of the Nihon Bijutsu Kyokai (日本美術協会), in 1906 he participated in the Universal Exposition in Paris.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), published by Hakubunkan (博文館), despite the right patina of time and the presence of numerous signs of folding, appears in good overall condition.
