Osen-rain
- Date:
- Early 20th century, or 1940s printing of earlier design
- Medium:
- Woodblock print; sumizuri-e
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
$1,500–$10,000. Common prints: $1,500–$3,000. Key value factors: Settai's literary elegance and refined technique have a niche but devoted following among collectors of Japanese aestheticism.
Osen, a famous Edo-period beauty associated with a tea shop near Kasamori Inari shrine, walks through rain in this sumizuri-e woodblock print. The sumizuri-e technique, printing in black ink only, gives the image a stark, calligraphic quality suited to Settai's precise line work. Osen was a celebrated subject in eighteenth-century ukiyo-e, immortalized by Harunobu and others, and Settai's return to this figure reflects his deep engagement with Edo-period visual culture. The rain adds movement and atmosphere to what might otherwise be a static portrait, the diagonal lines of falling water creating tension against the vertical figure. Settai's decision to work in monochrome emphasizes form and gesture over decorative color, distilling the image to its graphic essence.
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
c. 1833-36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Ame no Omiya
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Osen-rain was created by Komura Settai (小村雪岱) in Early 20th century, or 1940s printing of earlier design.
Osen-rain was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (Early 20th century, or 1940s printing of earlier design).
Osen-rain depicts rain.
