Nishijima Katsuyuki – Early Spring in a Village

Original woodblock print, hand-signed and numbered 126/500 by the artist. First published in 2000.

A calm day, probably in spring. Two buildings can be seen in the fields, from behind flowers and grass. A traditional technique used often by woodblock print artists to enhance the perception of depth. This is further reinforced by the rest of the composition, with first a line of trees rising behind the buildings. Even further away, multiple mountain ranges can be seen, still partly covered in the snow of winter. Finally, the snowy borders of the mountain ranges give way to a number of equally white, scattered clouds up in the sky.

Image size (excluding margins): 25.8 * 37.9 cm (10.2 * 14.9 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Nishijima Katsuyuki (b. 1945) is a prolific and popular Japanese woodblock artist. He has been perfecting his art since half a century, working in the Sosaku Hanga (creative prints) style, and thus carving and printing all by himself.

He has developed a completely unique style, making his prints recognizable from across the room. Common themes are country side landscapes and city scenes. Here, the scenes do not show people or modern tools, creating a timeless beauty, where, to an extent, it is possible to imagine oneself being in the present or a century earlier just as easily.

Nishijima Katsuyuki signs his prints, but many of the designs are unnumbered. With many designs and possibly recurring editions for his unnumbered prints, it seems that it was possible for him to keep them relatively affordable.

See an overview of Nishijima Katsuyuki's woodblock prints