COLLECTION NAME:
Louis Black Collection of Japanese Prints
Record
Collection:
Louis Black Collection of Japanese Prints, Art History Dept, Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London
Artist:
SHOSAN [Koson]
Culture:
Japan
Title:
Monkey Reaching for the Moon
Medium:
Woodcut
Dimensions (centimeters):
34 x 18 cm
Creation Date:
c.1910
Creation Century:
20th Century
Primary Creation Decade:
1910-1919
Primary Subject:
animals
Donor:
Louis Black, 1955
Description:
Shosan used name Koson before 1912; monkey hanging from a tree limb and reaching for the reflection of the moon on the surface of water over which the tree limb hangs
“Originally a trained painter, Koson began designing woodblock prints
during his tenure at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Due to his collaboration
with the established print publisher Watanabe Shozaburo starting in the mid
1920’s, Koson’s prints became highly successful. Koson
became well recognized for his idyllic flora and fauna printsprints; it is unknown if
the artist felt a particular connection to the natural world or if Watanabe
pushed Koson to design flower and animal prints in order to capitalize on yet
another genre of the shin hanga. 8 Indeed, the prominent publisher sent the
majority of Koson’s nature-oriented prints to Western countries where they
became immensely popular. As seen in Five White Egrets and Monkey Reaching for the Moon,
Koson’s prints often incorporate traditional Japanese artistic techniques such
as flat planes of color and a lack of perspective. Koson illustrated exotic
animals, as seen in Monkey Reaching for the Moon. Exotic animals appealed to Western
audiences since they were unfamiliar and they supported the West’s
romanticized notion of the Orient.” --Sydney LaBlonde ‘08
“Originally a trained painter, Koson began designing woodblock prints
during his tenure at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Due to his collaboration
with the established print publisher Watanabe Shozaburo starting in the mid
1920’s, Koson’s prints became highly successful. Koson
became well recognized for his idyllic flora and fauna printsprints; it is unknown if
the artist felt a particular connection to the natural world or if Watanabe
pushed Koson to design flower and animal prints in order to capitalize on yet
another genre of the shin hanga. 8 Indeed, the prominent publisher sent the
majority of Koson’s nature-oriented prints to Western countries where they
became immensely popular. As seen in Five White Egrets and Monkey Reaching for the Moon,
Koson’s prints often incorporate traditional Japanese artistic techniques such
as flat planes of color and a lack of perspective. Koson illustrated exotic
animals, as seen in Monkey Reaching for the Moon. Exotic animals appealed to Western
audiences since they were unfamiliar and they supported the West’s
romanticized notion of the Orient.” --Sydney LaBlonde ‘08
