“Afternoon nap (Hirune kana ひるね哉)” - Cat with Haiku - Limited 71/160 - Large Work - Iwao Akiyama 秋山巌 (1921-2014) - Japan

Technique: Original Woodblock print
Artist: Iwao AKIYAMA 秋山 巌 (1921-2014)
Titled: “Afternoon nap (Hirune kana ひるね哉)”
Limited Edition 71/160 - 1995 - Japan
Pencil hand signed with red Artist’s seal.

うららかよ ねこもいっしょに ひるね哉
A Haiku by Akiyama himself.
It depicts a scene on a balmy day, like taking an afternoon nap together with the cat.

Condition: Excellent condition

Dimensions: Large size
Paper size 455 x 305 mm
Beautiful handmade slightly wavy Japanese Washi paper, as usual with Akiyama prints.

Akiyama was a very famous and unique Japanese woodblock printmaker and artist known for distinctive prints of owls, cats, and other animals in the style of naive or folk art.
He studied Buddhism and folklore extensively on his own, and incorporated that knowledge into the themes of his woodblock prints. His works possess a unique worldview that evokes Buddhist compassion and spirituality.
Akiyama's prints are primarily made in black ink, and early ones contained a single red dot within the image, although later works sometimes feature more colors. In his prints, Akiyama limited himself to few subjects: animals, nude female figures, Akiyama's work often incorporated verses of haiku and other text by Japanese poets like Ryōkan Taigu, Kobayashi Issa, and Zen monk Santōka Taneda, as well as from his own original poetry.
Since his passing, his very unique works have become increasingly rare.

Collections: Brirish Museum; Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Israel; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne etc.


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