Toshi Yoshida, Peaceful Wild Animals (Part) – polychromatic version

Notes: *Due to the size, this item will be shipped gently rolled and protected in a strong tube. A rare limited-edition over-sized design by the artist. Signed and numbered in pencil, by the artist. This print shows the right two-thirds of the full polychromatic version of, "Peaceful Wild Animals". The Yoshida Hanga Studio issued both mono and polychromatic versions of the Lion, and monochromatic versions of each lionesses; all in chuban format. *Please view the adjusted shipping cost due to the size. 'In 1972, when he was sixty-one, Toshi visited Africa. This event ignited his fascination with the continent and its wildlife that lasted for more than twenty years and resulting in nearly thirty prints, more than a dozen oils, and a series of children's books. The African theme stands out as the final summit in Toshi's life work. The seminal work in this group is Peaceful Wild Animals (1974). Three proud lions rest on a rock our-cropping in the vast African savanna, presiding quietly over their world. The granite formation comes from the right, extending two-thirds into the image, The barely-colored foreground, with tufts of light brown grass, extends to the left and lightens into a tint in the far distance. Towards the horizon a herd of gnu grazes, and on the horizon a mountain - not unlike Kilimanjaro - raises a hazy gray profile. Toshi's fully developed views on life are conveyed here. The strength, peace, and dynamic harmony that Toshi sees underlying reality are revealed in the lions. Behind the finished print lies that large block of cherry - roughly the size of a six foot log - that Toshi bought during the war. At that time, using the wood for a large print was just a dream, or as his father probably thought, an illusion. Now the time had come to realize the dream. Difficult problems had to be solved all along the way. Toshi himself cut the three lions, the rock outcropping, and the bushes. Cutting just the lions took two months. The coat on each animal in the final print is made up of fine sculpted lines. They alone create the volume, flow, and highlights for the lions' bodies. It was a very sophisticated technique for achieving that effect. Toshi's skills here went beyond that of the old Ukiyo-e carvers, and is nowhere more impressive than in this print'. Yoshida Toshi: Nature, Art, and Peace; pgs. 68-70.