$2,000–$15,000+. Common subjects: $2,000–$5,000. Key value factors: As the founder of sosaku-hanga, Yamamoto's prints carry great historical significance. His earliest works are the most valued.
This 1918 woodblock print depicts a nude bather seated on coastal rocks, a subject that placed Yamamoto firmly outside the conventions of traditional Japanese printmaking. The nude figure, rendered with Western-influenced anatomical awareness, reflects his years of study in Europe where life drawing was fundamental to artistic training. Yamamoto's decision to treat the human body as a serious subject for woodblock printing was provocative in a Japanese art world that largely confined the medium to landscapes, actors, and beauties in kimono. The rocks and water are reduced to essential shapes, with the figure integrated into the natural setting rather than posed against a neutral backdrop. The print bridges European figurative traditions and the material qualities of Japanese woodblock carving.
Mutsu Tsuta onsen
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
1943
Color woodblock print
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
1924
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Bather on the Rocks was created by Kanae Yamamoto (山本鼎) in 1918.
Bather on the Rocks depicts nude.
