A sweet and delicate small pillar print by Yoshimoto Gesso of two small birds amongst a blossoming cherry tree branch. A rarely seen print published by Nishinomiya in the 1930s, primarily for the export market, and part of a series in conjunction with Gyosui Kawanabe. This print is a bit of a mystery; it’s seemingly a black variation of this print, but instead of Yoshimoto Gesso’s signature, it has a mystery signature.
The Woodblock Print
This woodblock print is in very fine to excellent condition. A clean verso and very fine, unblemished color and black spaces. As is typical for these prints the margins are mostly trimmed, all except one.
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.
