Modern Japanese prints

1910-1960

3 March 2016 - 22 May 2016

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This exhibition presents a selection of works from the important collection of modern Japanese prints, Nihon no Hanga, in Amsterdam. Between 1910 and the 1960s, two major trends developed in the world of printmaking in Japan, shin-hanga (New prints) and sôsaku-hanga (Creative prints). Both were rooted in the ukiyoe prints of the 18^th and 19^th centuries and represented traditional subjects - feminine beauty, actors, landscapes and cityscapes – in a contemporary fashion, using techniques inspired from Western printmaking.

The exhibition will be organized in two parts with a complete change-over of works on the 11^th of April. The first part will be devoted to the shin-hanga movement, represented in particular by the superb portraits of women by Hashiguchi Goyô (1881-1921) and Torii Kotondo (1900-1976), the landscapes of Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) and Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950), and the impressive actor portraits of Natori Shunsen (1896-1960). The second part will present the extraordinary stylistic diversity of sôsaku-hanga artists, including, among other figures, one of the movement’s first proponents, Yamamoto Kanae (1882-1946), the highly influential Onchi Kôshirô (1890-1955), as well as Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934) and Sekino Jun’ichirô (1914-1988).

An exhibition catalogue in English is on sale at the museum.