Catherine David. - Japanse prenten , One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, Water and Shadow - 2001-2014

Japanese Prints offers a richly illustrated introduction to Japanese print art from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The large color images are central and show the variety of subjects with which Japanese artists imagined their world. The book is organized thematically: landscapes and urban scenes, nature, female beauty and erotica, literature, poetry and art, children, and stories and myths. This allows the reader to compare different representations within the same subject.

The book’s large format invites careful viewing of the images. Details in faces, clothing patterns and compositions are given ample room. For a print enthusiast, the appeal lies especially in the combination of art and culture: each representation reveals something of the taste, interests and lifeworld in which it arose.
Languages English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Italian

Dimensions
Height 43 cm
Width 30 cm
Thickness 4.2 cm
Weight 3.5 kg
Number of pages 446
Hardcover

Yoshitoshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
This book by John Stevenson deals with the famous print series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon by the Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892). The series was produced between 1885 and 1892 and consists of one hundred color woodcuts. The book reproduces all the prints and explains the story behind each representation. This makes the references understandable that may be difficult for a Western reader to recognize.

The moon forms the connecting thread between very disparate subjects. Yoshitoshi drew from Japanese and Chinese history, literature, legends and traditional theater. The scenes show among others warriors, poets, women, monks and supernatural figures. Some scenes are dramatic, while others express calm, loneliness or longing. Thus the same theme takes on a different meaning each time.

Dimensions
Height 34.5 cm
Width 24 cm
Thickness 2.5 cm
Weight 1.76 kg
Number of pages 272
Hardcover

Water and Shadow: Kawase Hasui and Japanese Landscape Prints
Water and Shadow, edited by Kendall H. Brown, surveys the work of the Japanese landscape artist Kawase Hasui (1883–1957). His color woodcuts present a world of water, bridges, temples and serene urban views. The book shows how Hasui used landscapes to capture the atmosphere and character of a place, with particular attention to light, shadow and weather conditions.

Five essays illuminate his artistry from different angles. They discuss his place within Japanese landscape printmaking, his travels and the meaning of tourism for the places he depicted. His depictions of architecture, including pagodas and snowy locations in Tokyo, also receive separate attention. This links the prints to the environment and the era in which they were created.

Dimensions
Height 30.5 cm
Width 30 cm
Thickness 1.7 cm
Weight 1.5 kg
Softcover
Number of pages 196