. Chats on Japanese prints. culture, which have consider-able charm. In 1776 the same pair of artists broughtout a series of book-illustrations called Mirror ofthe Beauties of the Green Houses, representinggroups of courtesans occupied with the variousactivities of daily life—in the street, the house, thegarden, and the temple. This book has been calledthe most beautiful ever produced in Japan; whenone examines its chief rival, The Mirror of theBeautiful Women of the Yoshiwara, by KitaoMasanobu, one need have no hesitancy in givingShunshos and Shigemasas the first place. Thismeans, very probab
. Chats on Japanese prints. culture, which have consider-able charm. In 1776 the same pair of artists broughtout a series of book-illustrations called Mirror ofthe Beauties of the Green Houses, representinggroups of courtesans occupied with the variousactivities of daily life—in the street, the house, thegarden, and the temple. This book has been calledthe most beautiful ever produced in Japan; whenone examines its chief rival, The Mirror of theBeautiful Women of the Yoshiwara, by KitaoMasanobu, one need have no hesitancy in givingShunshos and Shigemasas the first place. Thismeans, very probably, the first place among theillustrated books of the world. Its pages, printedin rose, purple, brown, yellow, and grey, are richand delicate. Sheets from all these books are oftenfound mounted as separate prints. Shunshos fewknown pillar-prints are generally niagnificent. Because of his enormous productiveness, Shunshoswork in hoso-ye form is common, frequently in finecondition. Most of the hoso-ye prints were originally. SHDNSHO : THE ACTOR NAKAMURA NOSHIO INFEMALE ROLE. Size i2j X 6, Signed SImitsho ga. Goofcin 21. SECOND PERIOD: POLYCHROME 185 issued in joined groups of three; the groups areseldom found intact now. The grace of his womenhas made them more generally popular than his im-pressive men, and they are consequently harder toobtain. It must be noted that Shunshos work isuneven, and that the majority of the pieces offeredare either tame and uninteresting examples of pot-boiling or caricatures that lack the intensity whichlifts certain of the artists most grotesque figures totragic heights. The matchless Shunsho collectionof Mr. Frederick W. Gookin is full of such prints asrarely come into the market to-day. Occasionallythe more distinguished ones are met with ; and theyare treasures which the practised collector eagerlyseizes. Fortunately print dealers are not, as a rule,conscious of the greatness of the difference, andthey will frequently offer si
Size: 1057px × 2363px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192402333, bookyear1915
