About This Print and the Series Seihō's Masterpieces
This print titled Wind and Clear Water was released as part of the first of two sets of sixty-six prints titled Seihō's Masterpieces (a.k.a. Seihō's Masterworks) printed and issued by Unsōdō Publishing. This particular print, which is also in the Spencer Collection at the New York Public Library, was issued as one of four prints in the second envelope of set one. The envelope's colophon, shown below, lists the date of issue as July 25, 1937.
A combination of print processes (see further discussion see the article "Takeuchi Seihō: Seihō's Masterpieces.") were used for this series and this particular print is a collotype1 as can be seen by the reticulated pattern in the below detail, an artifact of the collotype process.
Click on image to see the reticulated pattern identifying this print as a collotype.
Colophon Envelope 2 Set One
Date of issue reads Showa 12 (1937), 7th month, 25th day
Date of printing reads Showa 12 (1937), 7th month, 15th day
click on image to enlarge
Date of issue reads Showa 12 (1937), 7th month, 25th day
Date of printing reads Showa 12 (1937), 7th month, 15th day
click on image to enlarge
The Series "Seihō's Masterpieces"
For images of all sixty-six prints and a description of the series, please go to the article "Takeuchi Seihō: Seihō's Masterpieces."Preparatory Drawing for Wind and Clear Water
竹内栖鳳（たけうち せいほう）TAKEUCHI, Seiho
水風清（下絵）Preparatory drawing for Wind and Clear Water
【制作年】昭和12年頃c. 1937
【サイズ】66.4 × 71.4 cm
【材質】墨 淡彩 紙 軸 Ink and charcoal on paper
水風清（下絵）Preparatory drawing for Wind and Clear Water
【制作年】昭和12年頃c. 1937
【サイズ】66.4 × 71.4 cm
【材質】墨 淡彩 紙 軸 Ink and charcoal on paper
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
1 Collotype printing had its first commercial use in Japan in 1889. The collotype photographic process was versatile and could produce high quality images on different types of paper. Collotype prints can be readily identified by the presence of image reticulation, a product of the finely cracked gelatin plate used to print the image, which can be seen under magnification. The size of the reticulation varies from print to print, but cannot be seen by the naked eye. The image can be a variety of colors. Prints made from collotype plates can be either hand printed or printed using a press. For more information on the process open the attachment link at the bottom of this page titled "The Collotype Process".
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #874 |
| Title | Wind and Clear Water ( Across the top: 不許複製 All rights reserved Rightmost column: 竹内栖鳳先生筆 Takeuchi Seiho sensei hitsu with title of print 水風清to its left. Leftmost column: 芸艸堂 publisher's name Unsōdō, copyright restrictions and addresses of Unsodo's offices in Kyoto and Tokyo. |
| Series | Seihō's Masterpieces (栖鳳逸品集 Seihō's ippin shū) (set 1) |
| Artist | Takeuchi Seihō (1864-1942) |
| Signature |  Seihō hitsu |
| Seal | unread seal as shown above |
| Publication Date | July 25, 1937 (as printed on colophon for envelope 2 containing the print) |
| Edition | original and only edition |
| Publisher | Unsōdō Publishing |
| Printer | Shinmi Saburō 新味 三朗 |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Miscellaneous | removed from its original heavy paper backing/matting, but still with original mat. |
| Genre | nihonga (also classed as e-hon, as the series prints exist as bound volumes) |
| Format | shikishiban |
| H x W Paper | 10 x 10 5/8 in. (25.4 x 27 cm ) |
| Collections This Print | New York Public Library, Spencer Collection; Rijksmuseum RP-P-2005-615-12 |
| Reference Literature | The Artist and the Book in Japan, Roger S. Keyes, The University of Washington Press with New York Public Library, December 2006, p. 252-253; The Art of the Japanese Book, 2 vols., Jack Hillier, Sotheby's Publications, 1987, p. 992-993. |
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