$500–$4,000. Common prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: As an early sosaku-hanga champion, Nagase's prints have historical significance. Bold, expressive woodcuts are most valued.
The pyramids of Giza, among the most recognizable structures on earth, appear in this woodblock print as Nagase brings the Japanese printmaking tradition to bear on an Egyptian subject. The pyramids' geometric simplicity, triangular faces rising from a flat desert plane, translates naturally into the woodblock medium's strength with bold shapes and clear tonal contrasts. Nagase joins a tradition of Japanese artists who depicted foreign landmarks after international travel became accessible in the postwar period. The dry desert light, the monumentality of stone construction, and the vast empty landscape surrounding the pyramids all contrast sharply with the intimate, moisture-rich Japanese landscapes more typical of the hanga tradition.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Pyramids of Egypt was created by Nagase Yoshio (永瀬義郎).
Pyramids of Egypt depicts landscapes, architecture, and travel scenes.
