Maekawa Senpan: At the Onsen

Artist: Maekawa Senpan
Title: At the Onsen
Series: From the portfolio Gendai meika sôsaku hanga shû (Collection of famous contemporary creative prints: 現代名家創作版画集)   Date: 1959

A nude woman has the bath to herself, lending us the feeling of a voyeur for imposing on her intimate and private moment. The rustic wooden bathouse seems timeless; the only sense of the 20th century is the lamp that hangs with a pink shade above it, although it seems to be a non-electric one. Water pours from a wooden trough at left as the woman holds a towel to her face. The simplicity of the forms has an underlying sophistication, as the artist is able to communicate a lot with relatively little. Senpan established himself as a caricaturist and illustrator before he started creating hanga in 1919, after teaching himself woodblock carving and printing as part of the sosaku-hanga (self-printed) movement. This work is part of a collaborative portfolio wherein ten artists each designed one print for an edition of 100 prints. With a limited edition numbering of 13/100.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Two  tape marks in upper verso corners which are also visible somewhat from recto.

Publisher: Self-printed and self-published.
Signature: Senpan Maekawa (in pencil); dated 1959 and sealed with the artist’s seal.

SKU: MKS010