Biblical Scene - Three Wisemen
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- wbp
Description
The Three Wise Men (Magi) arriving from the East to pay homage to the newborn Christ — following the star, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh — is one of the most visually rich subjects in the Christian calendar. Watanabe's katazome rendering of the Magi deploys his love of saturated, contrasting color: the wise men's elaborate robes and their exotic gifts providing a wealth of material for the stencil-dyeing technique's bold palette. The camels, the star, the long journey's conclusion in a modest stable — all rendered in the direct visual language of Japanese folk craft.
More Prints by Sadao Watanabe
More Religious Prints
The Great Buddha, Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu)
Kamakura Daibutsu
1930
Color woodblock print
Hall of the Great Buddha (Nara Daibutsuden)
1950
Color woodblock print
Great Buddha
大仏
Woodblock print
Clearing after a Snowfall at the Kannon Temple in Asakusa (Asakusa Kannon no yukibare), from the series "Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tokyo nijukkei)"
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Biblical Scene - Three Wisemen was created by Sadao Watanabe (渡辺禎雄).
Biblical Scene - Three Wisemen depicts religious.