$500–$4,000. Common landscapes: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Maeda Masao's atmospheric mountain and landscape prints have a dedicated following among sosaku-hanga collectors.
Mistletoe — the parasitic plant that attaches to tree branches and bears its berries in winter when its host tree is bare — is the subject of this natural history print in Maeda Masao's direct graphic manner. Mistletoe's combination of botanical interest — its unusual relationship to its host, its persistent green through winter — and its deep roots in European and Japanese symbolic culture gave it a richness as a subject beyond simple botanical illustration. Maeda's bold line treatment gives the parasitic plant and its host branch a graphic clarity that makes visible the plant's distinctive structural relationship to the tree.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Mistletoe was created by Maeda Masao (前田政雄).
Mistletoe depicts birds & flowers, winter, and trees.
