MEDSAN - Astro Boy Moonlit Waterfall (月夜の滝を飛ぶ鉄腕アトム) - UNIQUE WORK

ONLY ONE LEFT IN THE WORLD - EDITION 1/1

With this square-format work, Medsan brings Astro Boy, the little robot created by Osamu Tezuka in 1952, into a landscape of nocturnal Japanese lacquer. The manga and animation icon crosses the sky, with thrusters lit, above a mountain gorge spanned by a vermilion bridge. The composition evokes the great tradition of moonlit cascade landscapes, from Hiroshige’s ukiyo-e to the maki-e lacquer panels of Edo workshops.

The treatment is maki-e: on a deep black urushi lacquer background, gold powder traces the waterfalls in parallel streams, emphasizes the edges of the rocks, and illuminates the moon as a disk of gold leaf with a slightly grainy surface. Sprays of spray are laid on with powdered silver, in horizontal clouds that carve out space and create depth. The vermilion red lacquered bridge and Astro Boy’s silhouette, in flat cartoon forms with clean outlines, are the two warm notes in this black–gold–silver palette. The cartouche メドサン, a red plaque with white characters at the bottom left, signs the work in the manner of a seal.

The mashup speaks to the continuity of a single visual culture: the child-hearted robot, the first hero of modern Japanese animation, becomes a lacquer motif in his own right, just as a cascade or the moon are. His golden trajectory exactly extends the gesture of gold powder on the waterfalls, as if technology and nature were drawn by the same hand. The empty bridge below recalls that the hero’s flight always takes place above the world of men.

A silent and sumptuous piece, ideal for adding a touch of Japanese refinement and pop nostalgia to a contemporary collector’s interior who is sensitive to bridges between classical prints and manga culture.

Technical specifications:
Artist: Medsan
Reference: Astro Boy / Tezuka / maki-e / gold lacquer / nocturnal cascade / ukiyo-e
Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
Edition: Unique work — 1/1 (one-of-a-kind worldwide)
Year: 2026
Support: Giclée mounted on wooden frame (thickness ~2 cm)
Signature: Yes, hand-signed
Condition: Excellent condition
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity (upon request)

About the Atelier:
Atelier Joconde is a collective of artists united around a living and plural contemporary creation. Established as a true site of artistic production, the studio operates both in collective creation and in individual approaches, depending on projects and works. Atelier Joconde is also a family venture. Le Yack, contemporary figurative painter, develops a narrative and introspective body of work with cinematic and realist influences. Beside him, Medsan, oriented toward pop art painting, explores color, modern iconography, and visual culture. Finally, Neo Pablo engages in a more instinctive inquiry, blending abstract art, outsider art, and figurative abstraction. Each work is conceived, produced, and followed within the studio, with a shared artistic standard and an identity unique to each artist.

Keywords:
Medsan, Atelier Joconde, Le Yack, Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka, maki-e, Japanese lacquer, gold leaf, cascade, vermilion bridge, manga, square format, Contemporary, Unique work, 1/1