Venus
- Date:
- 1947
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Dimensions:
- 50.8 × 39.4 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
The 1947 Venus—Venus as subject rather than goddess name—places Saito briefly in the orbit of Western classical theme, the female nude body as an art historical subject of universal scope. His treatment would have subjected the Venus form to the same reductive analysis he brought to Buddhist figures: the body as a composition of simple rounded volumes, the classical pose reduced to its essential geometric relationships. The woodblock medium's flatness gave the result an unexpected affinity with both Japanese and modern Western art.
More Prints by Saito Kiyoshi
More Nude Prints
Tsuta Hot Springs in Mutsu Province (Mutsu Tsuta onsen), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Mutsu Tsuta onsen
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
Namari Spa, Iwate Prefecture (Iwate ken Namari onsen)
1943
Color woodblock print
Autumn at the Arayu Hot Spring, Shiobara
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Arifuku Spa, Iwami, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Iwami Arifuku onsen)
1924
Color woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Venus was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清) in 1947.
Venus depicts nude, figures, and abstract.
Venus measures 50.8 × 39.4 cm.