color woodblock print with baren swirls in the sky and kara-zuri ('blind-printing') of the snow on the ground; with artist's monogram FC followed by Tokyo 1915, with publisher's round Watanabe seal above
15 3/8 by 6 7/8 in., 39.2 by 17.4 cm
In the spring of 1915, Friedrich 'Fritz' Capelari visited the print shop of Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) in search of reproduction woodblock prints for inspiration. Capelari was an Austrian artist who had been living in Asia since 1910, unable to return to Europe because of the ongoing World War I. He had brought some painting samples with him to the shop, and Watanabe encouraged him to design works to potentially be made into prints. Watanabe had been looking for an artist trained in Western-style painting with whom he could work on a new type of color woodblock print, but rooted in the traditions of Japanese ukiyo-e. Apparently he had already been turned down by Japanese artists, such as the Paris-trained painter Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924), who were not interested in sullying their reputations in the fine art world by producing popular or decorative art. Foreigners in Japan would have been less burdened by the commercial implications of Watanabe's vision and had little to risk by participating in his experiment. Capelari accepted brushes and reproduction prints from Watanabe, and shortly thereafter the two began collaborating on producing woodblock prints. Within one year they completed twelve designs on themes referencing ukiyo-e, including bird and flower, landscape, and figural subjects.
To some, these prints could be considered the first shin-hanga ('new prints'). Certainly, it was the first time that Watanabe successfully recruited an artist from outside the traditional master-student system. And although many of the designs and subjects resonate with classic ukiyo-e, at the same time, the modern (or Western) influences are evident. He also used a higher quality paper that he had rarely used for his previous print productions, a financial investment indicative of Watanabe's commitment to shin-hanga. Watanabe pushed the printers he was working with to go against their own training and allow the marks made by the baren and speckles of paper to show through which emphasizes the textures of the woodblock printing process.
References:
Helen Merritt, Point of Contact, 1993, pp. 32-35
Amy Reigle Stephens, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, pp. 45-46, and pp. 209-210, no. 288
Yokohama Museum of Art, Eyes Towards Asia: Ukiyo-e Artists from Abroad, 1996, p. 68, no. 73-a
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin-hanga: Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, pp. 265-267 (on Watanabe & Capelari)
(inv. no. C-3046)
price: Sold
Scholten Japanese Art is open Monday - Friday, and some Saturdays by appointment only
Contact Katherine Martin at (212) 585-0474 or email [email protected] to schedule a visit between 11am and 4pm preferably for no more than two individuals at a time.
site last updated
March 29, 2024
Scholten Japanese Art
145 West 58th Street, suite 6D
New York, New York 10019
ph: (212) 585-0474
fx: (212) 585-0475