$500–$5,000. Common Biblical prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Watanabe's warm, folk-art Biblical prints have a devoted collector base. Larger formats and earlier works command more.
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.
Kamakura Daibutsu
1930
Color woodblock print
1950
Color woodblock print
大仏
Woodblock print
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Biblical Scene - Three Wisemen was created by Sadao Watanabe (渡辺禎雄).
Biblical Scene - Three Wisemen depicts religious.
