The Grace of the Mountain

Date:: 1949 (printed 1952)
Medium:: Woodblock print
Edition:: Self-printed
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Rare early signed work in excellent condition: $5,000–$25,000
Fine signed mid-century print: $2,000–$8,000
Good condition signed example: $500–$2,500

Description

"The Grace of the Mountain" — carved in 1949 and printed in 1952 — belongs to Munakata's landscape subjects, which existed alongside his dominant Buddhist and figure work. Mountains in Munakata's oeuvre carried the same weight of presence he found in sacred figures: the mountain as a natural manifestation of the same forces that animated the gods. His landscape prints were less concerned with topographic description than with the direct experience of a natural presence, the mountain's "grace" (inori, blessing, or the quality of spiritual beauty) rendered through carving that sought the thing's essential energy rather than its surface appearance.

More Prints by Shiko Munakata

Flying Over the Mountains (Yamagoe), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)"

1960

Woodblock print

Bodhisattva Manjusri (Monju bosatsu no saku), from the series Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha Sakyamuni (Shaka jûdai deshi), Shôwa period, undated (block carved 1948)

Shôwa period, 1926-1989

Woodblock print

Ragora (Rahula), from the series "Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (Nibosatsu Shaka judai deshi)"

1939-68

Woodblock print

Ubari (Upali), from the series "Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (Nibosatsu Shaka judai deshi)"

1939 (printed 1955)

Woodblock print

More Landscapes Prints

Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Wakasa Kugushiko

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"

1934

Color woodblock print; oban

Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)

n.d.

Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Mount Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints Sōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

The Grace of the Mountain was created by Shiko Munakata (棟方志功) in 1949 (printed 1952).

The Grace of the Mountain depicts landscapes and mountains.