Ohara Koson Bird Art电话盒：日本Shin Hanga印刷品

Ohara Koson (1877-1945) was a Japanese painter and woodblock print designer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for being part of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement.

Born in Kanazawa, Japan, as Ohara Matao, he studied painting and design at the Ishikawa Prefecture Technical School and later with the painter Suzuki Kason. Koson was famous as a master of kachō-e (bird-and-flower) designs and created around 500 prints throughout his prolific career. He worked with various publishers, such as Akiyama Buemon, Matsuki Heikichi, Watanabe Shōzaburō, and Kawaguchi, signing his work with different names, including Ohara Hōson, Ohara Shōson, and Ohara Koson. His prints were exhibited abroad and sold well, particularly in the United States.

Japanese woodblock printing, also known as ukiyo-e, is a traditional art form that originated in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). The technique involves carving an image into a wooden block, applying ink to the raised areas, and then pressing the block onto paper or fabric to create a print. The process is similar to Western woodcut printmaking but uses water-based inks instead of oil-based inks.

Woodblock printing was initially used in Japan as early as the eighth century to disseminate texts, especially Buddhist scriptures. The technique gained popularity in the Edo period, and ukiyo-e prints typically depicted scenes of worldly pleasures, such as beautiful courtesans, kabuki actors, and landscapes. The prints were known for their vivid colors, bold lines, and flat compositions.

The process of creating a Japanese woodblock print involves several steps. First, the artist designs the image on paper, which is then transferred to a thin, partly transparent paper. The paper is pasted onto a wooden block, usually made of cherry wood, and the carver chisels and cuts the design into the block, creating a negative image with the lines and areas to be colored raised in relief. Ink is applied to the surface of the woodblock, and a piece of paper is laid over the top of the inked board. The print is made by rubbing a round pad over the back of the paper. Polychrome prints require a separate carved block for each color, which could number up to twenty.

Japanese woodblock prints have had a significant influence on Western art, particularly on the Impressionist movement, which adopted elements of the ukiyo-e style, such as the use of bold, flat panels of color and close, cropped compositions.

The Shin Hanga movement, meaning "new prints," was an art movement in early 20th-century Japan that revitalized traditional ukiyo-e art rooted in the Edo and Meiji periods (17th–19th century). It emerged during the Taishō and Shōwa periods and was initiated and nurtured by publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. The movement aimed to revive the old tradition of making woodblock prints in a teamwork of artists, skilled carvers, and printers, and a publisher who was responsible for the commercial success.

Shin Hanga artists incorporated Western elements, such as the effects of light and the expression of individual moods, while focusing on strictly traditional themes of landscapes, famous places, beautiful women, kabuki actors, and birds-and-flowers. The movement flourished from around 1915 to 1942 and resumed on a smaller scale after World War II through the 1950s and 1960s.

Some notable artists associated with the Shin Hanga movement include Shinsui Ito, Hasui Kawase, Shunsen Natori, and Kotondo Torii. The Shin Hanga prints are characterized by their vivid colors, bold lines, and flat compositions.

Some renowned Japanese woodblock artists include:

1. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849): Known for his iconic print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" and his series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji".
2. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858): Famous for his landscape works, specifically the series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" and "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō".
3. Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806): Best known for his bijin ōkubi-e prints (large-headed pictures of beautiful women) and detailed nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects.
4. Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865): A prolific artist known for his portraits of kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and beautiful women.
5. Ohara Koson (1877-1945): A shin-hanga artist known for his kachō-e (bird-and-flower) designs, creating around 500 prints throughout his career.

These artists are celebrated for their unique styles and contributions to the development of Japanese woodblock printing, which has had a significant influence on Western art, particularly on the Impressionist movement.

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