SUNSET IN FUJICHO (Okuyama Gihachiro)

N.1 shin-hanga woodblock print
Year: 1948
Condition: very good
Size: 39 x 25,5 cm

SOLD

Description

Shin-hanga (新版画) woodblock print of large horizontal format taken from “A Series of Views of Mount Fuji” (富士連作) by the artist Okuyama Gihachiro (奥山儀八郎). The work is entitled “Sunset in Fujicho” (富士町の夕ぐれ) and was produced in 1948 by the Nihon Hanga Kenkyusho (日本版画研究所), that is by the Japanese Printmaking Institute whose logograms 版研 are visible in the watermark in the upper right part of the sheet.

Okuyama Gihachiro (1907-1981) was a prolific artist of the shin-hanga (新版画) and sosaku-hanga (創作版画) styles. Noted for his landscape prints, he has created over a thousand works in his lifetime. His shin-hanga woodcuts are consistent with other artists in this style, with evocative colors and smooth gradations giving the works depth and realism. His sosaku hanga works are intentionally rustic, either in black and white or a limited color palette.

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), made with the collaboration of the carver Shibamura Shinnosuke (柴村神之助) and the printer Inomura Masanosuke (猪村正之助), despite the right patina of time, is in very good general condition.