Posted by John Fiorillo on August 02, 1998 at 17:00:55:
In Reply to: Re: Hide Kawanishi posted by John Dash on August 02, 1998 at 14:13:46:
: Wow. Thanks so much, John. Never thought there would be such a quick and thorough reply. I had expected to see some European connection. Not to say anything against the artist's originality, but the print here is ukiyo-e gone to Matisse and returned with a vengeance. Again, thanks.
Follow-up from JF:
Your expectation of a European connection in Kawanishi’s prints is actually valid, though the influence was perhaps indirect. While still a high school student he was apparently inspired by a print he saw in Osaka called "Small Bay of Brittany" (see Merritt 1990, p. 163) designed by Yamamoto Kanae in 1913. After seeing the Kanae print Kawanishi taught himself how to make his own prints. It is difficult to know just how much influence Kanae had on Kawanishi, but Kanae’s role in sosaku hanga was a seminal one beginning in 1904 with a print called "Fisherman" (see Merritt, 1990, p. 110), considered the first so-called "creative" Japanese print made with woodblocks (not only designed but carved and printed by the artist, unlike ukiyo-e, which involved professional engravers and printers). Kanae was inspired by illustrations in European magazines like "Pan," "Jugend," and "Simplicissimus," which began their publications in the mid 1890s and were, in their turn, influenced partly by ukiyo-e. William Nicholson’s compositions were particularly influential. Kanae also studied in Paris, moving there in 1912 (he left in 1916), where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Still his admiration for the impressionists, fauves, and cubists was quite limited - he said that Matisse painted only one good work in 3,000! Kawanishi might have felt differently about Matisse, and his use of large areas of bold, saturated, primary colors without keyblock outlines certainly suggests a familiarity with and acceptance of European avant garde art of the first quarter of the twentieth century. His initial infatuation with Kanae’s print might also offer evidence of an inclination toward incorporating European printing and painting techniques into his woodblock designs. You can read more about all of this in Merritt’s book Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Early Years (chapters 6 and 7).