Author : Arthur Davison Ficke
Publisher :
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 14,19 MB
Release : 2015-08-05
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781332226894
Book Description
Excerpt from Illustrated Catalogue of an Exceptionally Important Collection of Rare and Valuable Japanese Color Prints: Together With a Few Paintings of the Ukioye School The prints herein catalogued are the fruit of fifteen years of search, in Japan, Europe, and America, for such select specimens of the art as seemed worthy to be preserved as a lasting treasure. Design, impression, and condition have all been taken into account in making the choice. Every artist of any consequence is represented; the greatest are represented by many and famous examples. In the collection, the experienced judge will readily recognize the presence of many remarkable and important specimens; and it is hoped that he will also feel that he recognizes the absence of poor ones. Long ago, the owner of the collection discarded those inferior or trivial examples the acquisition of which is the price paid by every collector for his education; and there now remains no print that does not, in the owner's opinion, contain some definite element of interest and of beauty. Special attention may perhaps be called to the pillar-prints in the collection. This form of print has always been the favorite one of the owner, and he has searched the world for them; as a result, it is perhaps not too much to say that never before, in Europe, America or Japan, has so large a number of distinguished examples in choice condition been offered to the public. The various rare prints of the Primitive and the Kiyonaga Periods, and the many admirable Hiroshiges, are also worthy of note. Except for a few unusually good sheets, prints by the late and decadent artists are wholly absent. The attentive eye will note that the majority of the prints are in flawless condition, and that even those prints which show some mark of time are by no means of the lifeless chocolate-coated type that is so common. To many students, Japanese prints are among the most precious products of the aesthetic powers of the human spirit. They contain certain perfections that exist nowhere else, either in actuality or in art. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.