Human Beings (B)
Artist/Culture
Yamaguchi Gen
(Japanese, 1896–1976)
Date1950-1953
Mediumwoodblock and cardboard-block print on paper
Dimensions54.6 x 45.1 cm (21 1/2 x 17 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineGift of Daniel Catton Rich in memory of Bertha James Rich
Object number1969.122
Label Text2004-08-06: YAMAGUCHI, Gen (1896-1976)
Human Beings B
1950
Sealed Gen Y. on image
Inscribed in Japanese on paper-slip on the reverse:
Yamaguchi Gen saku, Hito (B), 1950
Woodblock and cardboard-block print on paper
Gift of Daniel Catton Rich in memory of Bertha James Rich, 1969.122
Son of a prosperous liquor merchant, the politically liberal Yamaguchi converted to Christianity and, rejecting materialism, joined a religious sect devoted to poverty. Wandering door-to-door offering to do menial work, Yamaguchi's services were solicited in 1923 by Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955), the mentor and promoter of the Creative Print Movement. After helping with an upcoming print exhibition, Yamaguchi was accepted as a student. Yamaguchi and other artists (including Sekino Jun'ichiro, Azechi Umetaro, Saito Kiyoshi, and Haku Maki) regularly met at Onchi's house for monthly meetings of the Ichimoku-kai ("First Thursday Society" or "Best Wood Society", 1939-50) and annually assembled their prints in folios. Yamaguchi's works are elegant and dignified. In this print, two abstract figures are depicted in an intimate moment, placed against a textured, warm gray background. The male (right) is defined through greater height, a larger eye and more prominent forehead and patterning on the face. Yamaguchi used woodblocks as well as plain and corrugated cardboard blocks with poster-inks, applied in nine printing stages, to create this image. Greatly influenced by Onchi, Yamaguchi's work grew increasingly abstract, especially from 1947 onwards, and, like his teacher, his prints were usually issued in very small editions.ProvenanceDaniel Catton RichOn View
Not on view
