Kiyoshi Saito: Geisha Maiko Kyoto III 1960 / Japanese Sosaku-Hanga Showa period

Description: Kiyoshi Saito1907, Aizubange, Fukushima province - 1997, Tokyo, JapanMaiko Kyoto III (apprentice geisha from Kyoto), 1960 A Print in the Sōsaku-Hanga (creative prints) Tradition RARE, Original Hand-Signed Color Woodblock Print - c. 1960This print, titled "Kyoto Maiko (III)", is from a series on Japanese Kyoto Geishas that Saito created. The image depicting a seated Maiko (apprentice geisha from Kyoto) from backArtist Name: Kiyoshi Saito Title: Maiko Kyoto III (apprentice geisha from Kyoto), 1960 Signature Description: Hand-signed and stamped/sealed in red within the image.Technique: Color woodblock print Image Size: 42 x 28 cm / 16.54" x 11.02" inch Frame: Unframed Condition: Good condition Artist’s Biography:Kiyoshi Saito (斎藤清, Saitō Kiyoshi, April 27, 1907 - November 14, 1997, born in Aizubange, Fukushima), was a sōsaku hanga artist in 20th-century Japan. Saito is considered as one of the most important, if not the most important, contemporary Japanese printmakers of the 20th century. In 1938, he issued his first prints in his now famous "Winter in Aizu" series. Saito was one of the first Japanese printmaking artists to have won at the São Paulo Biennale in 1951. Saitō's early works depict villages populated with local Japanese with a high degree of realism and three-dimensionality. His more mature works merge modern elements with Japanese tradition. His prints feature architecture and plant life flattened in two-dimensionality. He spent time in Paris, and did a series there.Saito's work is known for fusing artistic Eastern and Western ideas and styles. He was inspired and influenced by Western artists including Paul Gauguin, Henry Matisse, and Pablo Picasso while also keeping to the long tradition of Japanese wood-block printmaking.Kiyoshi Saito was one of the first artists of the Japanese sosaku hanga movement whose art became successful and was widely accepted and awarded by an international audience. Today he is regarded as one of the great Master of Modern Japanese printmaking after the end of the war in 1945.Pop Cultural InfluenceKiyoshi Saito's works have influenced a variety of art and film today including the animation, Kubo and the Two Strings. Director Travis Knight has described the artist's blend of Western and Eastern influences in his artwork as inspiration for the film and said that Saito was the "key visual artist" in the artistic development of the Oscar Nominated Film.Influences from the artist's work can be seen subtly in Knight's animated film. One example of this is comparing Saito's print, Red Poppies (1948) to scenes in the movie where the main character encounters an underwater forest of monstrous, hypnotic eyeballs known as "The Garden of Eyes". When comparing the original art to the scenes in the film, Saito's influence can be clearly seen.Kiyoshi Saito Museum of Art in Yanaizu (Yanaizu Town, Fukushima Pref.) is dedicated to the works of the world-renowned woodblock print artist Kiyoshi Saito. Housing a collection of 850 of his works, including his well-known series 'Aizu no Fuyu (Winter in Aizu)', the museum also holds four special exhibitions a year with about 90 works displayed on each occasion.Further readingHarada, Minoru. "The Life and Works of Kiyoshi Saito". Tokyo: Abe Shuppan, 1990.Paget, Rhiannon. "Saito Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening". New York, London: Scala Art Publishers, Inc. 2021.From Temple Guardian ...Kiyoshi Saito was born in 1907 in a small village named Bange in the Kawanuma District of Fukushima prefecture in the northern part of Honshu, the main Japanese island. When he was five years old, his father lost his business in Fukushima and the family moved further north to the island of Hokkaido, where his father worked in the coal mines in Otaru. When Kiyoshi Saito was thirteen years old, his mother died and he was sent away to become the guardian of a buddhist temple. He tried to escape but failed. Nevertheless the priests allowed him to return home. ... to Sign PainterSaito then went to Hokkaido, where he took on a sign painting apprenticeship. At that time he dreamed of becoming a painter and he began to sketch gypsum casts at night. He founded his first sign painting business before his twentieth birthday and ensured himself a living and modest financial success. He reluctantly abandoned it, however, to study art in Tokyo. For the time being he was content with studying illustrations in western newspapers.Kiyoshi Saito in TokyoIn 1932 Kiyoshi Saito moved to Tokyo. He first worked as a sign painter and then later from 1944 until 1954 as an employee of the Asahi Newspaper Company. The job however was a secondary matter. More importantly, Saito came into close contact with Shiko Munakata. Kiyoshi Saito continued to paint with oil and taught himself the techniques of woodblock printing. In 1937 he presented both types of work for the first time in the famous Kokugakai Exhibition and was highly motivated. When he met Ono Tadashige at the Ginza Exhibition in 1939. Breakthrough in Sao PauloThe acquaintance with Koshiro Onchi, artist himself and mentor of the sosaku hanga movement, soon opened doors to famous galleries, where most notably American purchasers took an interest in Saito's work. Kiyoshi Saito emerged as Japan's most productive woodblock print artist, whose editions soon found worldwide markets. Sosaku Hanga artists were, however, first dismissed in the Japanese art world and their works were considered concessions to American tastes. This abruptly changed however in 1951 at the first Sao Paulo Art Biennial, when a panel of judges gave prizes not to distinguished artists for oil paintings and sculptures but rather to two Hanga artists: for the etchings of Tetsuro Komai as well as to Kiyoshi Saito for a woodblock print. The Japanese art world was shocked. Saito's work was henceforth displayed in important exhibitions and purchased for renowned collections. Saito was also often sought after as an illustrator for newspapers or as a commercial graphic designer. This new recognition and increased demand for his work brought Saito wealth and enabled him and his family to purchase their own home in 1970 in Kamakura on the outskirts of Tokyo, and another in 1987 in his homeland Fukushima. Style and TechniqueKiyoshi Saito developed a technique and style of creating woodblock prints with a reduced color palette and simplified forms. Instead of elaborate carving and color refinement, he worked a lot with the grain pattern of the woodblock. Overall, this special technique allowed Kiyoshi Saito to produce new print designs at a fast rate. Saito's work captures people with its compositional clarity and artistic simplicity. The bold abstraction and spontaneous design give his work a special quality. Motifs include everything from landscapes, portraits, and still lifes to animals and plants of all sorts. Affiliations· 1944-62 - Japanese Print Association. · Since 1949 - Kokugakai Art Association. Exhibitions and Awards· 1936 - Japanese Print Association, Tokyo, Japan. · 1939-40 - Nikakai-Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan. · 1942 - Exhibition in the Kyukyodo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. · 1946 - Kokugakai-Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan. · 1948 - Salon du Printemps, First Place, Mejiro, Tokyo, Japan. · 1951-70 - Annual Exhibition in Mitsukoshi Department Store, Nohonbashi, Tokyo, Japan. · 1951 - International Biennal in Print Design in Sao Paulo, First Place in Japanese category, Brazil. · 1955 - "Saito and His Associates", Seattle Art Museum, USA. · 1956 - Asia Foundation, USA and Mexico. · 1956 - "Munakata and Saito", Chuokoron-sha Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. · 1957 - Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA. · 1964 - Exhibition, Honolulu Academy of Arts, USA. · 1969 - Exhibition at Greater Victoria Museum, Kanada, and at San Diego Museum, USA. · 1976 - Retrospective, Fukushima Cultural Center and Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo, Japan. · 1977 - National Museum in Prague, Czechoslovakia. · 1981 - Service Medal from the Japanese Government, 4th Class · 1983 - 245 Works at Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Mie Museum of Modern Art and Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo, Japan. · 1984 - Exhibition, Hakudotei Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. · 1988 - Otaru Municipal Museum, Hokkaido, Japan. · 1988 - Series "Winter in Aizu", Portland, Oregon Museum of Art, USA. · 1992 - Kawaguchiko Town Museum and Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan. · 1992 - Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo, Japan. · 1993 - Complete Works, Tochigi Cultural Center and Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo, Japan. · 1994 - Exhibition, Odakyu Department Store, Tokyo, Japan. Collections of Kiyoshi Saito Art Works· Cincinnati Art Museum, USA. · Greater Victoria Museum, Canada. · Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA. · Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, San Francisco, USA. · Denver Art Museum, USA. · New York Public Library, USA. · Art Institute of Chicago, USA. · Gallery of New South Wales, Australien · Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa, Israel. · Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan. · Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Art, JapanAdditional Information:Shōwa period (1926-1989)Art movement The Shōwa period (昭和時代, Shōwa jidai, potentially "period of enlightened peace/harmony" or "period of radiant Japan"), or Shōwa era, refers to the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 until his death on January 7, 1989. The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor. During the pre-1945 period, Japan moved into political totalitarianism, ultranationalism and fascism culminating in Japan's invasion of China in 1937. This was part of an overall global period of social upheavals and conflicts such as the Great Depression and the Second World War. Defeat in the Second World War brought about radical change to Japan. For the first and only time in its history, Japan was occupied by foreign powers; this occupation lasted seven years. Allied occupation brought forth sweeping democratic reforms. It led to the end of the emperor's status as a living god and the transformation of Japan into a democracy with a constitutional monarch. In 1952, with the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan became a sovereign nation once more. The post-war Shōwa period also led to the Japanese economic miracle. In these ways, the pre-1945 and post-war periods regard completely different states: the pre-1945 Shōwa period (1926–1945) concerns the Empire of Japan, while post-1945 Shōwa period (1945–1989) was a part of the State of Japan. It was succeeded by the Heisei period. The term Shōwa (昭和) could be roughly understood as "radiant Japan" or "Japanese glory". The two kanji characters were from a passage of the Chinese Book of Documents:"百姓昭明，協和萬邦". From this same quotation, Japan also adopted the era name Meiwa (明和) during the Edo period in the late-18th century. There were two other candidates at the time - Dōwa (同和) and Genka (元化). In his enthronement address which was read to the people, the Emperor referenced this era name: The election of Katō Takaaki as Prime Minister of Japan continued democratic reforms that had been advocated by influential individuals on the left. This culminated in the passage of universal manhood suffrage in May 1925. This bill gave all male subjects over the age of 25 the right to vote, provided they had lived in their electoral districts for at least one year and were not homeless. The electorate thereby greatly increased from 3.3 million to 12.5 million. Pressure from the conservative right, however, forced the passage of the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 along with other anti-radical legislation, only ten days before the passage of universal manhood suffrage. The Peace Preservation Act curtailed individual freedom in Japan at the beginning to some degree, later to a large degree. It outlawed groups that sought to alter the system of government or to abolish private ownership. The leftist movements that had been galvanized by the Russian Revolution were subsequently crushed and scattered. This was in part to do with the Peace Preservation Act, but also due to the general fragmentation of the left. Conservatives forced the passage of the Peace Preservation Law because the party leaders and politicians of the Taishō era had felt that, after World War I, the state was in danger from revolutionary movements. The Japanese state never clearly defined a boundary between private and public matters and, thus, demanded loyalty in all spheres of society. Subsequently, any ideological attack, such as a proposal for socialist reforms, was seen as an attack on the very existence of the state. The meaning of the law was gradually stretched to academic spheres. Payment Methods: PayPal, Credit Card (Visa, Master Card), Bank Cheque. If you wish to send a personal cheque, please note that the item will not be shipped until the cheque clears. Shipping&Handling: All items are sent through registered mail or by E.M.S. Fast delivery service (up to 4-5 business days), depends on the weight and measures of the purchased item. You may add insurance for the item with an additional fee. 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