<b>TIGER</b> / Yoshitoshi Mori1972<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

This stylized tiger appears to be more a design motif than a fearsome creature. Before becoming an artist late in life, Yoshitoshi Mori was a kimono designer and created countless kimono patterns throughout his career. In his prints, we see Mori’s keen eye for design as he reduces his subjects to a pure, essential simplification of what he aims to convey. In this design we have a roaring tiger, but this is not an animal whose genus one can easily discern. It is a tiger that is lean and free of unnecessary embellishment. It is a Mori tiger whose power arises from the immediacy of his design, from the wild of a world of his own creation.

Connoisseur's Note

Very rarely did Mori portray animals as the main subject in his prints. Though not common, Mori rewards the viewer’s patience with a striking, almost whimsical-looking beast. A print one can admire from multiple perspectives—whether one enjoys mythical-looking animals or the native Japanese taste for all things cute, kawaii.

This particular impression is made even more desirable by its pristine condition and vivid colors—a testament to its years of archival storage. It’s quite rare to find large-scale work that has never been framed or displayed and has been spared the transgressions of improper framing and fading caused by years of exposure to sunlight. This print is as fresh as the day it was printed.