Various artists
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
$1,000–$10,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$3,000. Key value factors: Yamakawa's limited output and early death at 46 make his prints relatively scarce. Quality bijin-ga command steady prices.
This oban woodblock print, catalogued under the title "Various Artists," likely belongs to a collaborative publication in which multiple artists contributed designs to a single series or album. Such joint ventures were common in the shin-hanga publishing world, where publishers assembled collections showcasing different artists' interpretations of a shared theme, whether seasonal subjects, famous places, or beautiful women.
Shuho's contribution to such a project would have reflected his strengths as a bijin-ga specialist, placing his work alongside designs by contemporaries such as Ito Shinsui, Torii Kotondo, or Hashiguchi Goyo. These collaborative albums allowed collectors to compare different artistic temperaments within a unified format, and they served publishers as a way to cross-promote their stable of artists. The shin-hanga movement thrived on this interplay between individual artistic identity and the shared technical standards of the woodblock medium.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Various artists was created by Yamakawa Shuho (山川秀峰).
Various artists was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Various artists depicts figures and bijin-ga.
