Kono Bairei
Purple Creeper
1901

Name: Purple Creeper
Brand: Kono Bairei
Price: 350 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Kono Bairei (1844 – 1895) One Hundred Flowering Plants. Japan, 1901. (Posthumous.) Woodblock Print. 15 x 11 Unframed. Okura Magobei, Publisher. The enthusiasm for nature prints transcends the centuries. “One Hundred Flowering Plants” is a mid-nineteenth century work illustrating varieties of flowers and plants in naturalistic styles. Traditional woodblock printing enhances the beauty of each work. The artist must carve different woodblocks for every color he wishes to transfer to paper. In this style of printing it is imperative that the register of each woodblock be exact as they must match perfectly to create an image without blurring. In addition to his illustrated flower books, Bairei produced an exquisite work with birds. He complimented their beauty by often placing them with the flowers they would have been associated with in nature. This classic field, devoted to birds and flowers, is called kacho-ga. Bairei trained as a classical painter in the ukiyo-e school. His two primary teachers and mentors were, as a youth, Nakajima Raisho and, as an adult, Shiokawa Bunrin. He founded the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting which led to his eventually opening his own studio at which he taught. From this experience came his interest in experimenting with woodblock printing. In 1893 Kono Bairei became a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household. Woodblock printing flowered in the Edo Period, mid to late 19th century, and is still considered an art form of great precision and beauty. Kono Bari captures both the vitality and life inherent in the plants and flowers in each color woodblock print. Following the artist sketch, an image is carved into a block of wood. Black inks form the outline of the flower and color inks are applied to specific areas. The woodblock is then pressed to hand-made screened paper which is then hung to dry. The entire process of composing a single image can take weeks.

Creator:

Kono Bairei (1844 - 1895, Japanese)

Creation Year:

1901

Dimensions:

Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Depth: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor,Archival Paper,Handmade Paper,Lithograph

Period:

1900-1909

Condition:

Gallery Location: