Tag: shin-hanga

  • Kawase, Night: Three Contemplative Scenes by Hasui Kawase

    Kawase, Night: Three Contemplative Scenes by Hasui Kawase

    Hasui Kawase 川瀬 巴水, Dusk at Ushibori (Ushibori no yugure), 1930, Color woodblock print, oban tate-e, 17 1/16 × 11 13/16 in. Art Institute of Chicago Hasui Kawase is one of those gripping artists with a sharply unique perspective. His landscapes have a je ne sais quoi which sparks instant recognition of the scene as…

  • Ohno Bafuku’s Creative Nature Prints

    Ohno Bafuku’s Creative Nature Prints

    Ohno Bafuku (1888-1972) was a Japanese shin-hanga painter best known for his inspired naturely art works or sosaku-hanga (“creative prints”). Though nature is a frequent theme in Japanese art, Bafuku expresses an intensity and perspective that feels alternative to his era. One need only see Mebaru (20th. CE; above) to appreciate its conceptual beauty. The…

  • Itō Shinsui: Master of Bijin-ga

    Itō Shinsui: Master of Bijin-ga

    Itō Shinsui is an expert in beautiful women — or at least in painting them. An icon of the Shin-hanga (modern ukiyo-e) movement, Shinsui specifically excelled at bijin-ga: portraits of beautiful women. What makes Shinsui’s prints so special? Women are certainly not a new topic in the art world, and definitely not in ukiyo-e. From…