Scottish, b. 1967
Four Seasons: Winter
(Shiki: Fuyu)
a bijin wearing a white scarf around her head pauses to look over her shoulder, her collar with silver-white mica, the folds of her scarf embossed, the deep marine blue sky embellished with a spattering of gofun (ground oyster shell) snowflakes; the title, Fuyu, in gold at upper left, signed below in darker brass-colored metallic printed kanji, o ju (by special request) Bin-ni, followed by artist's silver seal Binnie, numbered and signed in pencil on the bottom margin, 10/100, Paul Binnie, 2003
dai oban tate-e 18 7/8 by 12 1/2 in., 48 by 31.6 cm
The Four Seasons series was commissioned by an American collector who requested 50 impressions of the first design, Summer, and 100 impressions of the remaining 3 seasons. The deluxe series was lavishly produced on thick over-sized paper and utilizing copious numbers of color blocks with nearly every imaginable labor for the artist, including, bokashi (gradation of colors), baren sujizuri (decorative swirl marks created by manipulating the baren), karazuri (lit. 'blind printing' or embossing), and metallic printing. Although Binnie had for the most part avoided female subjects in his woodblock prints previously, the series was a tremendous success.
Reference:
Paul Binnie: A Dialogue with the Past - The First 100 Japanese Prints, 2007, p. 112, no. 75
price: Sold