This work originally represented December in a series of twelve prints created for the Urasenke school of tea ceremony. In principle, a single hanging scroll- a Zen calligraphy or an ink painting–is displayed in a tea room tokonoma alcove; a seasonal reference is desirable, and the mood should be contemplative.
Although certainly aware of these customary rules, Munakata broke with tradition and incorporated Western images into his works, including this one. Art critic Yasuda Yojürò (1910-1981), of the Japanese Romantic school, said in Urasenke’s journal,
Tank, in November 1956, “Just like Munakata’s Buddhist images, this Christ does not represent authority or a sacred aura but is an aspect of Munakata’s heart.” In the magazine Hangeijutsu (Art of prints) from March 1973, philosopher Tanigawa Tetsuzö (1895-1989) said, “Munakata’s Christ produces a fragrance that comes from the unique expressiveness of hanga and is the result of his skill with the chisel.” Yanagi Söetsu (1889-1961) believed that Christ transcended Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Sakyamuni (cat. 5) in its internal strength and depth. He wrote in the June 1958 issue of the magazine Mingei, “I am sure that I will keep looking at this work over and over until I die. I have taken great care in its mounting, and I have had two or three different impressions mounted as hanging scrolls.”
Dimensions: TBC Original Printing Date: 1958 (Lithograph printing date 1975) Medium: Lithograph
Shiko Munakata (1903-1975) was a Japanese artist, world-renowned for his woodblock prints and his role in popularising both the shin-hanga and mingei movements in the West. Munakata’s distinctive and harsh take on print making gained worldwide attention in the mid 20th Century: in the Eastern World, this was a result of his departure from more traditional production techniques whilst still maintaining the cultural subject matter of Buddha, flowers and similar everyday imagery. Whereas in the West, the prints were produced in a style not too dissimilar from the European abstract and modernist artists, which in turn gained Munakata the nickname of ‘Japanese Picasso.’ One can easily see the similarties between the two artists.
An interesting observation is noticing that Picasso and his French peers were influenced by the work of the earlier Japanese printmakers, notably Hokusai, which in turn influenced Munakata; the influence really travelled full circle within artistic circles in the 19th and 20thcenturies.
Christ by Shiko Munakata
£125.00
This work originally represented December in a series of twelve prints created for the Urasenke school of tea ceremony. In principle, a single hanging scroll- a Zen calligraphy or an ink painting–is displayed in a tea room tokonoma alcove; a seasonal reference is desirable, and the mood should be contemplative.
Although certainly aware of these customary rules, Munakata broke with tradition and incorporated Western images into his works, including this one. Art critic Yasuda Yojürò (1910-1981), of the Japanese Romantic school, said in Urasenke’s journal,
Tank, in November 1956, “Just like Munakata’s Buddhist images, this Christ does not represent authority or a sacred aura but is an aspect of Munakata’s heart.” In the magazine Hangeijutsu (Art of prints) from March 1973, philosopher Tanigawa Tetsuzö (1895-1989) said, “Munakata’s Christ produces a fragrance that comes from the unique expressiveness of hanga and is the result of his skill with the chisel.”
Yanagi Söetsu (1889-1961) believed that Christ transcended Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Sakyamuni (cat. 5) in its internal strength and depth. He wrote in the June 1958 issue of the magazine Mingei, “I am sure that I will keep looking at this work over and over until I die. I have taken great care in its mounting, and I have had two or three different impressions mounted as hanging scrolls.”
Dimensions: TBC
Original Printing Date: 1958 (Lithograph printing date 1975)
Medium: Lithograph
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Description
Shikō Munakata 棟方 志功
Shiko Munakata (1903-1975) was a Japanese artist, world-renowned for his woodblock prints and his role in popularising both the shin-hanga and mingei movements in the West. Munakata’s distinctive and harsh take on print making gained worldwide attention in the mid 20th Century: in the Eastern World, this was a result of his departure from more traditional production techniques whilst still maintaining the cultural subject matter of Buddha, flowers and similar everyday imagery. Whereas in the West, the prints were produced in a style not too dissimilar from the European abstract and modernist artists, which in turn gained Munakata the nickname of ‘Japanese Picasso.’ One can easily see the similarties between the two artists.
An interesting observation is noticing that Picasso and his French peers were influenced by the work of the earlier Japanese printmakers, notably Hokusai, which in turn influenced Munakata; the influence really travelled full circle within artistic circles in the 19th and 20thcenturies.
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