Antique Rare Early C.1900 Koson Ohara Japanese Woodblock Print Two Quails

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Antique Rare Early C.1900 Koson Ohara Japanese Woodblock Print Two Quails:
$2222.82

Antique Japanese Koson Ohara Woodblock print.Stunning antique early Koson Ohara woodblock printof Two QuailsLate 19th Century/Early 20th Century around circa 1900s.This antique print is in its original frame andhas never been removed from it.please see pictures of the back including close ups of the antique hand made small square nails(used commonly in the Victorian period - which helps the dating of this print to approximately C.1900 possibly a little earlier or little later).Measures 14.5\" inches by 8.6\" inches (including the frame).Condition is very good indeed and the woodblock print has good colours stillI imagine it has been very wellprotected overthe years.Please see pictures for Koson Ohara red monogram.(This is an antique item so please bare in mind it does have some signs of usethe frame is in good condition and is finished in blackand also has a gold gilded wooden inner border).A beautiful antique woodblock print.Very good condition.(please see description above)
Artist info please see below

Major Japanese Print Artist -Koson Ohara (1877-1945)

Ohara Koson was a great printmaker in the twentieth century, best known for his kacho-e, prints of both flowers and birds.

Koson was born in Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture. His original name was Matao. He became a student of Suzuki Kason, a Shijo-style painter. During his study with Kason, he took his artist name Koson, which was possibly partial adaptation of his teacher\'s. His artist name changed to Shoson in 1912 and Hoson later in his career.

Around 1900 Koson started teaching at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, where he met Ernest Fenollosa, an American who had a great passion and zest for Japanese art. Fenollosa convinced Koson to design prints in traditional Japanese-style for export, mainly to the United States.

After the Russo-Japanese War irrupted in 1904, Koson, like many ukiyoe artists at the time, started designing war prints. By then people in Japan had lost interest in traditional woodblock prints as a result of the introduction of photography. The war was an opportunity for these financially stressed ukiyoe artists to get out of poverty as the demand for illustrations of the war was high.

As well as war prints, Koson also made some landscape prints in the 1900\'s. But his main interest was birds and flowers. He had many kachoe published by Kokkeido and Daikokuya early in his career, and his works around this period were in restraint of bright colours, which captured a certain sense of calmness and elegance.

Changing his artist name to Shoson in 1912, he started to concentrate on painting. However, many believe that he created some more prints for Daikokuya using the name Koson.

In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed much of Tokyo. Watanabe Shozaburo, a Tokyo publisher and the initiator of the Shin Hanga (New Print) movement, lost his workshop in this terrible event. His shop was reopened in the following year, and to rebuild his print business he recruited Koson and other printmakers. Koson re-started printmaking, in 1926. From then on, many of his print designs, mostly kach-e, were published by Watanabe, though Koson also worked with other publishers including Nishinomiya Yosaku. On the works published by Sakai and Kawaguchi, he used the name Hoson.

Koson\'s prints after 1926 have much brighter colours than his early works, possibly because they were aimed at the Western market. His kacho-e prints were exported to the U.S. In 1930 and 1936, his prints were displayed at the Toledo exhibition.

Koson\'s depiction of birds is masterful and body details, feathers in particular, were done with meticulous care. His kacho-e prints are considered among the best portrayal of birds created in the 20th century Japan.