<b>SIDE GATE OF CONFUCIAN TEMPLE, TAINAN, PRINT</b> / Koshiro Onchi1920<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

This woodblock print features a view of the side gate to the Confucian temple at Tainan. Onchi’s creative and spontaneous printing style has given the impression of a vivid exuberance that successfully conveys the lifeforce of overgrown vegetation surrounding the temple. The artist’s use of colors in conjunction with the inspired but skillful printing technique makes this work one of Onchi’s most recognizable representational designs. It is interesting to note that this design is based on an oil painting produced by the artist in 1920. That oil painting is executed in Onchi’s typical rich, dark palette for oils and the soft and energetic brushwork throughout the composition anticipate the printing technique found on this self-printed woodblock print executed nearly 16 years later.

Connoisseur's Note

Self-printed works by Onchi are exceedingly scarce. This design is known in multiple self-printed impressions. However, Onchi did not believe in producing unified printed work; he saw printmaking as a creative process, not a mode of duplication, with each printing as an opportunity to express his emotional state at the moment of creation. Therefore, all self-printed impressions of this design demonstrate a unique quality that identifies it as executed by the hand of the master. Jun’ichiro Sekino and Koichi Hirai both printed separate editions of this design, Sekino’s print run was executed by Onchi’s request while Hirai’s edition was done posthumously as a tribute to Onchi. Though adequate reproductions of the design, both impressions lack the inspired spontaneity found on Onchi’s self-printed impressions.