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Japanese woodblock prints

Jasper52 Japanese woodblock prints sale Jan. 29 spans classic to contemporary

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Japanese woodblock prints
Paul Jacoulet, ‘Apres La Danse, Celebes’ (After the Dance, Celebes), 1940, Dai-oban 18.5 x 14.2 inches, signed Paul Jacoulet with Butterfly seal, carver: Maeda. Estimate: $2,000-$2,300. Jasper52 image

 

NEW YORK – Jasper52 will present its biggest Japanese woodblock prints auction to date – more than 200 works – on Sunday, Jan. 29. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available exclusively through LiveAuctioneers.

Featuring names like Kiyonaga, Kawase and Sekino, this sale reveals nuanced techniques and traditional Japanese values. Whether capturing the serenity of a temple or fashionable women, these images exemplify both fine art and elegant decoration.

Among the oldest prints in the auction is Month of the Chrysanthemums (below) by Torii Kiyonaga, printed in 1795. Born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752, he took on Torii Kiyonaga as an art name. Kiyonaga was a ukiyo-e artist of the Torii school. Ukiyo-e artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, scenes from history and folk tales, travel scenes, landscapes, flora and fauna, and erotica.

 

Japanese woodblock prints
Torii Kiyonaga, ‘Month of the Chrysanthemums,’ 1795, 7.5 x 10 inches, published by Eijudo, signature: Kiyonaga ga. Estimate: $3,200-$4,000. Jasper52 image

 

Among the modern works is Joichi Hoshi’s Field, printed in 1974 on gold leaf (below). His prints are now part of collections such as the Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Chicago Art Institute.

 

Japanese woodblock prints
Joichi Hoshi, ‘Field,’ 1974, edition: 63/99, 32 x 17.25 inches, print on gold leaf. Estimate: $4,000-$4,500. Jasper52 image

 

Junichiro Sekino (1914-1988) was a Japanese printmaker and a leading promoter of sosaku hanga, an important Japanese art movement that revitalized traditional ukiyo-e art rooted in the Edo and Meiji periods. He is represented in the auction with a large print (below) titled Puppet Master or Bungoro on Stage, 3/25.

 

Japanese woodblock prints
Junichiro Sekino, ‘Puppet Master’ or ‘Bungoro on Stage 3/25,’ 1953, frame size: 35 x 29 inches. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500. Jasper52 image

 

Hasui Kawase (1883-1957) was a Japanese artist and printmaker who became a prominent figure in the shin-hanga (“new prints”) movement of the early 20th century. This movement was influenced by European Impressionism and its imagery focused on landscapes, women and nature. Two of his works are standouts in this auction. The earlier woodblock print is Shiba Zojo Temple in Snow (below), which was published by Watanabe in 1925.

 

Japanese woodblock prints
Hasui Kawase, ‘Shiba Zojo Temple in Snow,’ 1925, 10.5 x 15 inches, published by Watanabe. Estimate: $6,000-$7,000. Jasper52 image

 

The latter was Evening Snow at Ishonomaki (below), 1935, also published by Watanabe.

 

Japanese woodblock prints
Hasui Kawase, ‘Evening Snow at Ishonomaki,’ 1935, 10 x 15.5 inches, published by Watanabe (early state impression). Estimate: $2,800-$3,200. Jasper52 image

 

One of the few Western artists to master Japanese woodblock printing and be recognized in that country was Paul Jacoulet (1902-1960). A fine example of his work presented in the Jasper52 auction is titled Apres La Danse, Celebes (After the Dance, Celebes), done in 1940.

This online-only auction will begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. Absentee bids can be placed now at LiveAuctioneers.com.

 

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Japanese woodblock prints