Bokashi is a Japanese technique for hand-applying a gradient to a moistened printing block.
According to Wikipedia, "The best-known examples of bokashi are in the 19th-century ukiyo-e works of Hokusai and Hiroshige, in which the fading of Prussian blue dyes in skies and water create an illusion of depth."
The earliest prints were all black and white, using methods such as woodcut, wood engraving, and etching. When the technology made it possible to print in full color, tastemakers in France dismissed them, arguing that they were cheap and low-class.
The exhibit includes fine examples of these early intaglio color prints, such as the one above.
When color lithography was developed, artists embraced it as a fast and efficient method that was perfect for large public posters. The show includes many prints by Jules Chéret, the master of the show poster.
Jules Chéret, Lady with a Mask [Comedy], c. 1891, Lithograph in sanguine on paper. The Clark Art Institute, 1955.2391.
I was also impressed by the informal sanguine prints by Jules Chéret, where he explores different arrangements of carefree figures.
The exhibition also includes prints by Pierre Bonnard, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Maurice Denis, Camille Pissarro, Edouard Vuillard, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
I was hoping the show would include printed works by Alphonse Mucha. He was Czech, technically, but he was the major star in the Paris print scene, and his graphic works were extremely influential. Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen and Eugène Grasset were also notably missing from the show, perhaps because the Clark doesn't have good examples of the color prints in their collection.
A secondary exhibit called "Competing Currents" about Japanese prints of the 20th century makes a perfect enhancement to the show. I'll share more about that on a future post.
Hue and Cry: French Printmaking and the Debate Over Colors closes March 6. Admission is free for the month of January.
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| Adolph Menzel, "The signal for war was thus given to Europe." Engraver: Unzelmann, Friedrich Ludwig (Source) Book: Die Werke Friedrichs des Großen, vol. 2 Author: Volz, Gustav Berthold Publisher:Berlin: Reimar Hobbing, 1913 |
An excerpt of my introduction to the book on Adolph Menzel (German, 1815-1905) addresses this point: As a commercial printer, Menzel threw himself into the task of producing decorative illustration work, such as menus, letterheads, greeting cards, and invitations. Anyone else might have written off such jobs as menial. For Menzel, to produce anything less than a sincere effort would be to “throw one’s cake in the water.” He told admiring students that it was essential to do justice to every assignment, and to accept everything as a genuine artistic challenge. “You will then cease at once to consider anything unworthy of your powers,” he said. (on Amazon) |
| "Haunted House," etching by Mary Nimmo Moran |
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| Painting by Mary Nimmo Moran |
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| Quiet Anchorage, lino cut by Ernest Watson. |
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