Japanese Collotype Printed Pine Trees Painting by Hasegawa Tōhaku (長谷川 等伯)

Meet Japanese Collotype Printed Pine Trees Painting by Hasegawa Tōhaku (長谷川 等伯).

It is a collotype-printed poster attached on a thick paper board with golden edges, of a painting by Hasegawa Tohaku done in Azuchi-Momoyama period in the 16th century, which is designated as a National Treasure in Japan. The original painting is done on a set of six-panel folding screens (Shorin-zu-byobu) and is on display at Tokyo National Museum.

The pine forests hidden between the haze are depicted with crude and bold brushwork. It is a masterpiece of Hasegawa and considered the best work of early modern ink painting. 

While a common printing method prints colors and shading with a density of small dots, collotype printing expresses them with continuous gradation, which makes it possible to express them with fine details that are closer to real-life, just like photographs.

Born in Nanao, Noto (Ishikawa Prefecture) in 1539, Hasegawa is the founder of the Hasegawa school. Initially, he mainly produced Buddhist paintings, but later went to Kyoto and became devoted to Sesshu. He studied Sung Yuan painting and the Makigyo style and developed his own style of painting centering on ink and wash paintings. His representative work includes The Pine Trees, Enko (Monkey) with Dead Tree, and Chishakuin Golden Heki painting.

Dimensions: approx. W 10.75" (27.3 cm) x L 9.57" (24.3cm)

This piece comes beautifully double-wrapped in washi paper, thus perfect for gifting and storing.

Made in Japan.