Springtime of Life
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art of Japan
$500–$4,000. Common subjects: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Ishikawa's prints are relatively uncommon in the market. When available, good examples find ready buyers.
This [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print equates the springtime season with the flowering of youth, presenting a young woman as the human embodiment of spring's promise. Ishikawa Toraji builds the composition around the figure's vitality, using the color palette and natural imagery associated with the season to amplify the sense of life at its most vibrant. The title "Springtime of Life" invokes the Japanese concept of seishun, a word that literally combines "blue/green" and "spring" to mean the years of youth. Toraji's print makes this poetic abstraction visible through the specific beauty of one woman in a particular moment of her life.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Springtime of Life was created by Ishikawa Toraji (石川寅治).
Springtime of Life was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Springtime of Life depicts spring.
