| Notes (this edition)?: |
| The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies:
Thursday, 24 August 2006
KOHO SHODA
Woman on a Bridge
from the series Japanese Scenes on Tanzaku
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: not dated but originated c.1910s-20s, published by Nishinomiya; with Shoda Koho seals in red at bottom right
Size: chuban, 3.5" X 15.375"
Condition: VG, no flaws, uncirculated print, never framed, not trimmed, not backed
Impression: Fine, solid key lines, and tight registration
Color: Fine, saturated color and bleed through to verso
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This has always been my favorite Koho tanzaku, showing a black cat in a tree at night with its yellow eyes aglow. Note the detailed carving worked into this subtle but utterly amazing print.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT NISHINOMIYA TANZAKU PRINTS
The following is quoted from Marc Kahn web page. Vertical, narrow prints are a by-product of traditional Japanese architecture, which offered very few solid wall surfaces. Many times, the only solid surface available for the hanging of pictures, were the structural posts which held up the roof. "Pillar prints" became a genre unto themselves and were referred to in Japanese as hashira-e or tanzaku.
The design of pleasing compositions within such a constrained format is a serious challenge for the artist. Yoshimoto Gesso and Shoda Koho, the artists who designed the prints in this series, have certainly risen to this challenge and produced a wide variety of wonderful designs. |
|
