<b>YANCHIN</b> / Kanae Yamamoto1912<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

This design was conceived on Yamamoto’s trip to Europe in 1911. The scene depicts three Chinese prostitutes with bound feet. Helen Merritt, in her book Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, indicated that Yamamoto, in his travel journal, described the women as having “cheeks rouged like blooming Chinese milk vetch.” This design is striking, expressive, and unforgettable. The image is built up of flat areas of color, but gone is the quintessential black key block outline that was a traditional mainstay in Japanese prints leading up to Yamamoto’s time. Areas of the image are printed softly and loosely, particularly the background, providing a mysterious and course atmosphere. This image recalls the oil paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec and his infamous Moulin Rouge subject matter. It’s most likely that Yamamoto produced this print in Paris, his first stop in Europe, and is considered among his first and finest works executed on his trip abroad.

Connoisseur's Note

This exceedingly rare and important design is lightly tipped onto its original folder comprised of thick Western paper. Of significance is the artist’s Western-style signature below the image directly applied to the mat. The care in which this print was originally presented suggests it originally went to a close admirer or wealthy patron who may have paid extra for the deluxe presentation folder.

This print was originally produced in Europe for a shortlist of subscribers in Japan. Given its original limited number, this design is currently known in only a few impressions surviving in private hands, making it exceedingly difficult to acquire. This particular print is in an exceedingly excellent state of preservation—ideal for an institution or a serious collector of fine sosaku hanga.