<b>PALM SUNDAY (THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY)</b> / Sadao Watanabe1993$2,800</em>

Details

Sadao Watanabe dedicated his entire career to producing prints illustrating the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Though the subjects of his prints may be familiar, Watanabe utilized his unique talent of stencil production mixed with Japanese aesthetic sensibilities to create a new and compelling vision of these time-honored stories.

Watanabe’s design draws inspiration from the biblical account in the book of Matthew, depicting Jesus entering Jerusalem while riding a donkey on the Sunday before his crucifixion. Watanabe skillfully incorporates elements that mirror the welcoming scene, with the city's inhabitants adorning Jesus's path with palm tree branches. The entire composition exudes movement, as all elements, including the figure at the top, bow and bend toward the center, echoing the shape of the bowing palm tree branches. Watanabe's distinctive use of thick black outlines imparts a stained glass-like quality to the design.

Connoisseur's Note

This stencil print is executed on hand-made Japanese paper that has been crumbled and flattened to take on the appearance of a textile. Consequently, the background color and other elements in the design are printed with an expressive, uneven hand that will create unique variances from impression to impression.

This work is in pristine condition with vivid colors—a testament to its years of archival storage. It is 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.