Gautama and Bodhisattvas
Artist/Maker
Shikō Munakata 棟方志功
(Japanese, 1903–1975)
Date1958
MediumWoodcut
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/16 × 13 1/8 in. (23 × 33.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Cleveland Print Club
EditionCleveland Print Club Publication no. 38 (1960)
Object number1960.11
Status
Not on viewA renowned master of woodblock printmaking, Munakata Shikō was connected with the early 20th century Creative Prints (Sōsaku-hanga 創作版画) movement, a reaction against the complex, collaborative division of labor that had characterized the print industry of earlier centuries. Printmakers of the movement argued that a print artist should not only draw the designs, but also cut and ink the woodblocks, allowing a fuller expression of the artist’s intent. Munakata often worked directly on the block without a preparatory sketch, giving his prints a rough, spontaneous quality that also reflects his connections with the Folk Art (Mingei 民芸) movement.
Some of Munakata’s best-known prints have Buddhist subjects, reflecting the artist’s devotion to Zen Buddhist practice and thought.
Exhibition History
Some of Munakata’s best-known prints have Buddhist subjects, reflecting the artist’s devotion to Zen Buddhist practice and thought.
An Art Reborn: Modern Japanese Prints from the Allen Memorial Art Museum
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 18, 2000 - June 18, 2000 )
Collections
- Asian
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late 19th century
late 19th century
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th century