<b>STILL LIFE ON A TABLE</b> / Fumio Kitaoka1951<B>SOLD</B></em>

Details

Regarding Sosaku Hanga artists, Kitaoka may have experimented with the most diversity of styles resulting in an exceedingly varied oeuvre. This early work from 1949 was executed before the artist established his own print studio. The brightly colored still life showcases a blue bottle on a wooden table along with a white plate, lemon, and two pieces of fruit whose silhouette resembles strawberries. The composition emphasizes line, shape, and color in a harmonious interplay. The design is an interesting amalgamation of the styles of George Braque’s late synthetic cubism and Henri Matisse’s palette. This print was one of the designs originally collected by Oliver Statler and was featured in his book, Modern Japanese Prints.

Connoisseur's Note

This print is an exceedingly rare impression executed when Kitaoka had not yet pursued printmaking as a profession. The print illustrates the hand of the artist at work, experimenting with both composition and printing style. The design is executed on paper the artist obtained after the war. In fact, this paper was obtained as a large roll of industrial decorative washi, not originally intended for printmaking. As a result, work produced from this period paper is easily identifiable by its shiny mineral content throughout its surface as well as the highly expressionist quality of the artwork it hosts, as the non-absorbant nature of the paper encouraged the pigment to lay directly on the surface of the paper, acting more like a painting.

This impression is in a fine state of preservation with exceedingly sharp and vivid colors and in overall excellent condition.