<b>TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, PEKING</b> / Bernard Leach1916<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Born in Hong Kong, British artist Bernard Leach is most often remembered as a potter. However, among print aficionados, whose focus is early 20th-century prints, Leach’s work represents an evocative and pioneering force that was the source of inspiration to dozens of early Japanese printmakers. 

Leach’s engagement with printmaking occurred in London at the London School of Art, where he studied painting and printmaking under Frank Brangwyn. Having the desire to return to Asia, Leach traveled to Japan and China in 1909–1920, where he aimed to teach the art form and gain inspiration from the idyllic and romantic settings of his childhood.

Leach’s arrival in Japan came at an auspicious time. The spirit of this era gave birth to the Sosaku Hanga movement: burgeoning Japanese artists aspired to take up printmaking and self-produce work that satisfied their artistic aims. Leach exhibited and sold his printed work at small art exhibitions and gatherings, which attracted the attention of the well-known Japanese artist Ryūsei Kishida and influenced dozens of others. Tomimoto Kenkichi, Santomi Ton, Oda Kazuma, Junzo Kon, Sekino Junichiro, and Takeo Takei all indicate Leach as an artistic influence.

Printed work from Leach’s time in Asia possesses a directness that reflects an open engagement with the native cultures. Perhaps Leach’s childhood in Asia granted him the ease to work and travel in locales that were strikingly foreign to Westerners.

Temple of Heaven is Leach’s most extensive and, perhaps, most impressive print from his works created in Asia. The piece showcases the towering Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests found within the vast imperial temple complex situated in the southeastern part of Beijing. The towering structure is shown from afar, behind a wall, but the energetic and pulsing quality throughout unifies the composition. The scene’s vegetation grows with a vigor that permeates the work. The impressionistic use of gray tones coupled with the structures’ realistic draftsmanship creates a striking and powerfully expressive image.

It is interesting to note that when Leach created this print, the temple complex was not open to the public. Perhaps this is why Leach depicts the towering structure from afar, behind the temple complex wall. The vegetation’s energy and the composition’s free-flowing quality suggest the artist’s desire to explore the forbidden. Only a couple of years later, in 1918, the temple complex was opened to the public.

Connoisseur's Note

Self-printed lifetime impressions of Bernard Leach prints are exceedingly rare. Though Leach aimed to produce printed work to make a living, teaching provided him a livelihood as his prints’ sales were sparse. His output in Asia totaled up to three dozen designs, but none of the prints were made in large editions. Some designs were later reissued in a second edition when the artist returned to Europe and recently issued posthumously in one last edition. The artist produced this work while he was in Japan and is among the earliest printings of the design. The work was dedicated in pencil at the lower margin to Mr. Watanabe, an early Japanese industrialist who was a dedicated patron of Leach as well as other early Sosaku Hanga artists such as Yamamoto Kanae.