Artist: Fritz Capelari
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Beauties
Edition: First
Date: 1915
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: New Wave: pg. 209-210
Size: 15 -1/4 x 6 -1/2 " (ô-tanzaku)
Condition: Very fine
Notes:
"FC" circular seal, followed by Tokyo 1915. A rare pre-earthquake design by the western artist.
In 1915, the publisher Sadao Watanabe was looking for new artists to revitalize the art of woodblock prints. He wanted to work with an artist who could paint Japanese scenes in a realistic Western style. That spring, he noticed Capelari's watercolors in a Japanese department store exhibition. Watanabe was impressed and contacted the artist, hoping to arrange a collaboration. Fritz Capelari was fascinated with the carving and printing aspects of Watanabe's publishing studio because of his background in wood carving and graphics. He agreed to a working partnership with the publisher and shortly thereafter produced a print called "Returning Home in the Rain". S. Watanabe went on to quickly publish 11 more designs by Capelari that year, including landscapes and bijin-ga, or "beautiful women" prints.