<b>PORTRAIT OF HAGIWARA SAKUTARO</b> / Koshiro Onchi1943$4,000</em>

Details

Koshiro Onchi was one of the leading printmakers in 20th-century Japan, credited with producing the first work of abstraction in printed form in 1915. Onchi was comfortable in both abstract and representational formats, making his prints stylistically varied. He imbued his work with an expressive quality that was thought-provoking and emotionally potent, creating pieces that remain unrivaled today. With his charisma, Onchi nurtured the sosaku hanga movement during the dark years leading up to and during World War II, encouraging artists to produce creative prints for art’s sake.

The portrait of Hagiwara Sakutaro is perhaps Onchi’s most celebrated representational work. It has become an icon of 20th-century Japanese prints and a symbol of the sosaku hanga movement. Hagiwara Sakutaro, a surrealist poet and friend of Onchi, met him while in art school. Onchi, along with his Tsukuhae colleagues—Tanaka Kiyokichi and Fujimori Shizuo—contributed images to Hagiwara’s surrealist masterpiece, Howling at the Moon (1917). Hagiwara succumbed to depression and alcoholism and died in 1942 during the dark years of World War II. Deeply moved by his friend's passing, Onchi produced this portrait posthumously a year later.

The portrait of Hagiwara is a compelling and probing psychological study of a subject overcome by depression and angst. Perhaps it was Hagiwara’s poetic heart and sensitivity to the darkness of the time that led to his demise. Onchi, a poet himself, was acutely aware of the trials of the period and his friend’s suffering. He imbued the portrait with an emotional depth and power rarely seen in Japanese portraiture, let alone in printmaking.

As an advocate for self-directed printmaking, Onchi exploited the woodblock printing process by overprinting a complex array of colors and tonalities. This technique gave the portrait a profound sense of light and shadow, enhancing its psychological depth. The portrait was so successful that after the war, Onchi received dozens of requests for it. Not interested in producing more than a handful of any given print, Onchi asked his friend and follower, Sekino Jun’ichiro, to produce an edition of fifty impressions to meet the demand. After Onchi’s death, the demand for this design increased, and Hirai Koichi was hired to produce an additional fifty impressions as a memorial tribute.

Connoisseur's Note

This highly sought-after design is an impression executed by the printer Hirai Koichi. The print was produced in 1955 after Onchi’s death, using the original Onchi-carved woodblocks. Hirai’s edition was very well received, selling out the same year it was produced. This particular print is in excellent condition and is a fine example of the design. The Hirai impression offers an excellent opportunity to acquire one of Onchi’s most significant works, as well as one of the top designs in 20th-century Japanese printmaking, at an obtainable price.