Edward Fairbrother Strange

“ The earlier prints by these artists, whose work can hardly be separated, are of extraordinary merit. They applied the process of colour block printing to the purposes of depicting landscape, with a breadth, skill and suitability of convention that has been equalled only by Hokusai in Japan, and by no European. Most of their subjects were derived from the neighbourhood of Yedo, or were scenes on the old high road—the Tokaidō—that ran from that city to Kiōto. ”

“ A block that had warped could often be straightened out again, by being well soaked in water and then placed under a weight.
DIAGRAM:——Method of framing a block to prevent warping.
PRINTING [pg 12] The Printing of the old colour-prints was done by a third person, neither the engraver nor the designer.
The finished block must first be thoroughly washed and dried. The colour is then applied with a brush, to the upper surface of the block, which rests on a low stand (Suridai) to which are affixed four small cushions of wet cotton (Yawara) to prevent slipping (fig. 6) . ”

“ KŌRIN, OGATA (c. 1657–1716) , Japanese painter and lacquerer, was born at Kōtō, the son of a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts and is said to have given his son some elementary instruction therein. Kōrin also studied under Soken Yamamoto, Kanō, Tsunenobu and Gukei Sumiyoshi ”

“ Jacopo della Quercia’s work exercised a powerful influence on that of the artists of the later Italian Renaissance. He himself reflects not a little of the Gothic spirit, admirably intermixed with some of the best qualities of neo-classicism. He was an artist whose powers have hardly yet received the recognition they undoubtedly deserve.
See C. Cornelius, Jacopo della Quercia: eine Kunsthistorische Studie (1896) , and works relating generally to the arts in Siena. ”

“ As a painter, his landscapes and drawings of insects are most highly considered by Japanese critics; but his fame will always rest among Europeans on his designs for colour-prints, the subjects of which are almost entirely women—professional beauties and the like. ”

“ For a time he lived in extreme poverty, and, although he must have gained sums for his work which might have secured him comfort, he remained poor, and to the end of his life proudly described himself as a peasant. ”

“ For the sake of economy, colour-blocks are sometimes cut on both sides; and, for small details, two portions of the design may be cut on one side, but only one colour is printed at each operation.
In the actual cutting of the block, the old Japanese engraver adhered to an important principle—that of following the direction of the brush strokes of the original drawing, in such a manner as to reproduce the actual quality of the brush-mark. This is less apparent in the ordinary colour-prints ”

“ In 1891, under the advice of Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Puvis de Chavannes, he took up art as a profession. In 1892 he attended the classes at the Westminster School of Art, then under Professor Brown; and from 1893 until his death, at Mentone, on the 16th of March 1898, his work came continually before the public, arousing a storm of criticism and much hostile feeling. Beardsley had an unswerving tendency towards the fantastic of the gloomier and “unwholesome” sort. ”

“ Utamaro's personal name was Yusuke; and he first worked under the signature Toriyama Toyo-aki; but after a quarrel with his father substituted the name Kitagawa for the former appellation. His distinct style was the outcome of that of his father, tempered with the characteristics of the Kanō school. ”

“ Designs for Japanese colour-prints were made by artists, who, as a rule, were adherents of the Popular (Ukiyoye) School and, socially, of the rank of artisans. The drawing was done with a brush on very thin Mino or Gampi paper, the colours used being washes of water-colour worked with rice-paste medium. To correct the design, the portions to be altered were covered with pieces of paper, on which the revised drawing was made. ”

“ Repin’s paintings are powerfully drawn, with not a little imagination and with strong dramatic force and characterization. A brilliant colourist, and a portrait-painter of the first rank, he also became known as a sculptor and etcher of ability. ”

“ NOTE.—The Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design includes a large collection of Japanese Colour-prints and Drawings, which can be seen on application in the Students' Room (Room 71) at any time (except on Sundays) when the Museum is open to the public.
HOKUSAI.—Original drawing for the key-block of an unpublished colour-print in the series called “The Hundred Poets explained by the Nurse.” A junk, with straw sail, conveying three travellers; at the bow a breaking wave. At the top right-hand corner is a poem by Hoshoji no Nyudo Saki no Kwampaku Daijo Daijin. ”

“ A fine collection of these works is preserved in the British Museum; and there are also good examples in the National Art Library at South Kensington, and the Musée Guimet at Paris. Among his illustrated books may be mentioned Yehon Taka-kagami, Illustrations of Hawks (5 vols., 1870, &c.) ”

“ The completed design (generally, to begin with, in black lines only, or with only a little tint as a guide to the engraver) was then fastened face downwards on the block with rice starch weakened with water. As much as possible of its upper surface was rubbed away, some oil being used to make the remainder more translucent, and thus to enable the engraver more easily to follow the lines of the drawing. ”

“ The earliest reference to him is in the account given by an inhabitant of the Lu-chu islands of a visit to Japan; where a sketch of a procession drawn with great skill by Hiroshige at the age of ten years only is mentioned as one of the remarkable sights seen. At the age of fifteen he applied unsuccessfully to be admitted to the studio of the elder Toyokuni ”

“ Among the work known to have been done by Jacopo, may be mentioned also the reliefs of the predella of the altar of S. Frediano at Lucca (1422) ; and the Bentivoglio monument which was unfinished at the time of his death on the 20th of October 1438. ”

“ The selected residuum is then laid in running water for several days, and boiled in an iron kettle with lye, till it is quite soft and pulpy. The pulp is next washed with fresh water until the water runs off without discolouration. ”