Mattia Jona, Master Drawings and Prints, Japanese Prints - Piazzetta Guastalla 5, 20122 Milan, Italy, tel (+39) 02 8053315

OGATA GEKKO (1859 - 1920) FLOWER ARRANGING (Ikebana)
Woodcut, 1891, from the series 'Fujin Fuzoku zukushi' (Customs and Manners of Women). Signed and sealed 'Gekko'. Very good impression and colour. Minor flaws, generally in very good condition. 'Oban', 355 x 251 mm.

Ogata Gekko worked as a painter, printmaker and decorator of lacquerware and pottery. He was a founding member of the Bunten (Ministry of Education Art Exhibitions, starting in 1907). Genre scenes from everyday life were his most common subjects. He produced a considerable number of war prints during and after the Sino-Japanese war. His print style is more reminiscent of paintings then traditional woodblocks and his designs required great skill of the carvers and printers who executed them.