<b>MT. FUJI</b> / Koshiro Onchi1940<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Koshiro Onchi was one of the leading printmakers in 20th century Japan. He is 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 is known for imbuing his work with an expressive quality that was thought-provoking and emotionally potent. In many cases, his most expressive work remains unrivaled today. With his charisma, Onchi tended to the flame of the sosaku hanga movement during the dark years leading to and during the war by encouraging artists to produce creative prints for art’s sake.

Onchi presents the viewer with a charming and powerful scene of Mt. Fuji rendered at dawn. The mountain and passing clouds are set aflame in the hues of the rising sun. The motif is traditional—the mountain has long been a symbol of Japan and had become an iconic subject in prints since the Edo period when Hokusai first introduced his Red Fuji nearly 100 years before this design. It is interesting to consider the subject matter as it relates to the time it was executed, circa 1940, as nationalistic pride was running high at this time. The government certainly encouraged artists to produce work that advanced patriotic feelings, further endearing the populace to the growing militaristic campaigns of the Japanese armed forces.

Connoisseur's Note

The print is a rare, perhaps unique, self-printed work executed in a spontaneous wet-like printing technique with expressive overprinting of colors— all telltale signs of the hand of the master at work. The print is titled in the upper right and signed at the lower right in the artist’s distinctive calligraphic hand.