Two swallows are perched on a branch among a wisteria in a “small pillar” format print.
The Woodblock Print
A beautiful print by Yoshimoto Gesso in very good condition from the 1930s, stamped “Made in Japan” on the verso.
Incredibly skilled bokashi shading providing a seamless and subtle gradient from top to bottom, while at the same time much smaller shading elements in the leaves and flowers of the wisteria. No discolorations to be seen with strong color and a delicate treatment throughout. Clean verso. A soft crease is visible on the verso, but not seen from the front.
About the Artist
Yoshimoto Gesso is known for a large number of landscape and kacho-e (images of birds and flowers) designs published by Hasegawa and Nishinomiya, but little else is biographically known about him. These designs were very well crafted with artistic compositions made presumably for the export/foreign market. His work is very painterly, leading some to believe that he was a trained painter whose works were commissioned, and then transformed into woodblocks by the professional carvers and printers at Hasegawa and Nishinomiya, but that is speculation.
