Pottery and Haniwa
1952
Of all modern print artists, Saito Kiyoshi was perhaps the most prolific, and was almost certainly the most popular among foreign viewers. His prints employed the traditional woodblock medium to convey in simple shapes and bold colors the objects, buildings and scenery that most represented the familiar idea of "Japan." In this print, Saito has taken two iconic forms of Japanese art-the clay vessel and the ritual haniwa figure-and distilled them to their geometric properties. The abstraction of form and use of "primitive" motifs owes something to French artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), who was himself inspired by 18th- and 19th-century Japanese prints.
Woodblock print
Image: 29 3/4 x 18 1/8 in. (75.6 x 46 cm)
Sheet: 33 x 21 3/4 in. (83.8 x 55.2 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
55.56
