Three Wise Men
- Date:
- 1962
- Medium:
- Hand-colored stencil print on crumpled paper; edition 40/50
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
$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.
Dated 1962, Three Wise Men — from an early edition of 50, on crumpled paper — is among the earliest of Watanabe's Magi prints, establishing the compositional approach he would develop across subsequent years. The three figures' procession, each bearing his distinctive gift, is rendered in the katazome style's characteristic bold palette. The crumpled paper gives the surface an organic richness that suits the scene's mixture of royal splendor and humble destination. This early version shows his synthesis already fully confident in its visual language.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Three Wise Men was created by Sadao Watanabe (渡辺禎雄) in 1962.
Three Wise Men uses Stencil Print, on hand-colored stencil print on crumpled paper; edition 40/50.
