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| Artist: | Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki — 松亭高橋、弘明 |
| Title: | Pug on a Cushion |
| Series: | |
| Date of first edition?: | 1926 |
| Publisher (first edition)?: | Watanabe Shozaburo — 渡辺 |
| Publisher (this edition)?: | Watanabe Shozaburo — 渡辺 |
| Medium (first edition): | Woodblock |
| Medium (this edition): | Woodblock |
| Format (first edition): | Oban
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| Format (this edition): | Oban |
| DB artwork code: | 44551 |
| Notes (first edition)?: |
Artist : Takahashi Hiroaki (Shotei)
Size :24.2 x 36.4cm (Image Size)
Date : 1926
Signed Hiroaki with a red Shotei seal. |
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| Notes (this edition)?: |
| The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies:
PUG on CUSHION
WOODBLOCK PRINT
with "Gauffrage"
by Takahashi Shotei, 1926
This is a charming woodblock print of a beautiful little Pug dog sitting on a colorful cushion. The red ruffled collar looks great against his silky black & white fur. An especially nice feature on this print is the "Gauffrage" (embossing) technique. The embossing emphasizes the waves in the fur and the fabric pattern on the pillow, etc. Aside from the signature printed in the upper left, there is also a printed mark in the lower right border. The print is glued only along the top edge to the silk-covered back board. I have included detail photos that show the condition problems that I noticed. The upper corners have torn, probably from someone trying to remove it from a previous mounting. The tears are very small, about 1/4 inch of each upper corner. The pieces are attached to the current backboard so nothing is missing. There is evidence along the backside bottom edge that it had been attached in that area, previously. Also, in the center area of the print there are a few small discolorations and a couple of pin holes. When held to the light, you can see that this laid paper. There are some marks that may be light scratches, or may be just be the natural look of the surface of this type of paper. In that photo of the center area, you can also see the gauffrage, or embossing, throughout to emphasize the flow of the fur, etc. There are also 2 small labels on the back of the print, the lower corners. The overall size of the paper is 9 3/4 x 14 7/8 inches. Although there are some condition issues, you would only notice them on close inspection. |
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| Artist Bio: |
Takahashi Shotei was born in Tokyo with the given name of Takahashi Katsutaro. At a young age he was trained in Nihon-ga , the traditional Japanese painting style by his uncle Matsumoto Fuko, and beginning around 1907 Shotei started designing for the Watanabe Color Print Company. Shotei was among the first designers to be recruited into Watanabe's stable of artists, which would later expand to include Goyo, Shinsui, Hasui, Kasamatsu, Koson and Koitsu among others. Many Watanabe prints were designed for export, primarily to North America, where the demand for all things Japanese was high in the early 20th century.
By 1923 Shotei had produced nearly 500 designs for Watanabe, when Tokyo was hit by the Great Kanto earthquake -- the worst recorded natural catastrophe in the history of Japan. The fires ignited by the earthquake raged for three days, and Watanabe's print shop and all the woodblocks created by Shotei and the other early shin hanga artists, were destroyed.
After the earthquake Shotei created another 250 prints mostly depicting scenic Japanese landscapes in the shin hanga style he had helped to define. He continued to work for Watanabe, but also worked with the publishers Fusui Gabo and Shobido Tanaka, where he had more control over the finished print than was possible with Watanabe.
Shotei used a variety of names, signatures and seals during his lifetime. From 1907 until 1922 he used the name Shotei, and after 1922 Hiroaki and Komei.
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