Willow (Aoyagi)
- Date:
- c. 1940
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- 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.
"Willow" is a [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) print by Komura Settai, created during the Taisho and Showa periods. This work captures the enduring presence of trees with the contemplative sensitivity that characterizes the artist's finest nature prints.
Komura Settai renders the subject with masterful control of the woodblock medium, using the interplay of carved line, color, and paper texture to evoke the tree's form, atmosphere, and symbolic resonance. Trees have long held special significance in Japanese art as symbols of endurance, seasonal change, and the beauty of the natural world.
This print represents Komura Settai's contribution to the shin-hanga tradition during the Taisho and Showa periods. As with all works by this artist, it reflects both individual artistic vision and the broader cultural moment in which it was created. For collectors and admirers of Japanese printmaking, it offers a window into the sophisticated aesthetic world that produced some of the most beloved images in art history.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Willow (Aoyagi) was created by Komura Settai (小村雪岱) in c. 1940.
Willow (Aoyagi) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (c. 1940).
Willow (Aoyagi) depicts trees.
