<b>PEONIES (set)</b> / Inuzuka Taisui1929<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

This is a unique 4-piece set by the shin hanga artist Inuzuka Tasui. The grouping is of the artist’s circa1929 print titled Peonies, published by Kawaguchi. The set includes the original artist-produced watercolor; hanshita, or key block; trial print; and the fully realized, commercially produced woodblock print. This extraordinary collection is a rare opportunity at seeing the woodblock print process at work.

As with all prints produced in the shin hanga collaborative process, an artist was hired by the publisher to create a design that would be published as a woodblock print. The artist typically submitted a finished watercolor, as the work included in this set, to the publisher for approval. If the publisher accepted the design, he would have his skilled artisans carve out the woodblocks and print a trial impression to deliberate further on the design. Usually, adjustments were made before the finalized commercial impression was executed, as this set illustrates.

It is interesting to take note that the finalized woodblock print from this set is a faithful reproduction of the artist's original watercolor. The trial print reveals the deliberations and fine-tuning that occurred to the design based on the publisher’s feedback to his artisans. Note the trial print’s colors are much closer to the original work, while the finished impression is slightly lighter and takes greater advantage of the various effects from woodblock printing, such as the softer, more grainy printing that produces a stronger tactile quality.

Connoisseur's Note

This exceedingly rare group comes from the Kawaguchi estate. The collection has never been framed or exposed to prolonged periods of light and has been in archival storage. As a result, the four works are in a pristine state of preservation.