Munakata had long been interested in traditional ukiyo-e prints showing “large heads” of kabuki characters and beautiful women. The women of his “large head” prints have an urna (a Buddhist symbol) on their foreheads. Munakata, amused, noted “When I add a round star on the forehead of a nude, it becomes a magnificent buddha…it is amazing what a world of difference it makes whether or not there is a star on the forehead.”
Setting Out in the World is open of his masterpieces of this genre. The bright colours of the prints are painted not only from the back (urazaishiki), but also from the front. Munakata also titled this work Lady Aomori, and Lady Nadeshiko, suggesting that he was expressing nostalgia for his native place.
An exquisite lithograph produced on a very textural Japanese ‘washi’ paper, published by Yasukawa as part of their collaborative calendar project.
Dimensions: 37.8 x 29.5 cm Original Printing Date: 1968 (lithograph printed 2019) 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.
Setting Out in The World by Shikō Munakata
£55.00
Munakata had long been interested in traditional ukiyo-e prints showing “large heads” of kabuki characters and beautiful women. The women of his “large head” prints have an urna (a Buddhist symbol) on their foreheads. Munakata, amused, noted “When I add a round star on the forehead of a nude, it becomes a magnificent buddha…it is amazing what a world of difference it makes whether or not there is a star on the forehead.”
Setting Out in the World is open of his masterpieces of this genre. The bright colours of the prints are painted not only from the back (urazaishiki), but also from the front. Munakata also titled this work Lady Aomori, and Lady Nadeshiko, suggesting that he was expressing nostalgia for his native place.
An exquisite lithograph produced on a very textural Japanese ‘washi’ paper, published by Yasukawa as part of their collaborative calendar project.
Dimensions: 37.8 x 29.5 cm
Original Printing Date: 1968 (lithograph printed 2019)
Medium: Lithograph
In stock
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.
Read More Here.
Related Products
Flower Fox by Shiko Munakata
£55.00 Read moreOctober: Red Maple Leaves and Rabbits by Shiko Munakata
£55.00 Read moreMaisaka: The Canal’s Shell Covered Well by Shiko Munakata
£55.00 Add to basketFrom the Series In Praise of Shokei the Kiln of Kawai Kanjiro by Shiko Munakata
£145.00 Add to basketHanami no saku (Tanizaki Utauta Hangasaku) by Shikō Munakata
£55.00 Read moreSwiss Mountain (Mont Blanc) by Shikō Munakata
£55.00 Add to basketNamu by Shiko Munakata
£55.00 Read moreWinter Bird by Shiko Munakata
£55.00 Read more