Press : Shin hanga - The new prints of Japan 1900-1960

The "Shin hanga - The new prints of Japan 1900-1960" exhibition (13/10/2022 – 15/01/2023) features no less than 220 Japanese prints from two private collections in the Netherlands, as well as sketches, studies and prints from the collection of the grandson of the publisher Watanabe. Next to these works, the visitors find a selection of Shin hanga prints from the rich collection of the Art & History Museum.

The Shin hanga (literally « new prints ») art movement was a revival of traditional printmaking (ukiyo-e) in the early 20th century. The publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962), noting the decline in xylographic production due to competition from new imported techniques such as photography and lithography, was the movement's greatest promoter. He gathered around him artists whose drawings were printed using traditional woodblock printing techniques. While retaining classic themes such as landscapes, beautiful women (bijin), kabuki actors and flowers-and-birds, Shin hanga prints also reflect a modernizing Japan and seduce with a new aesthetic and an extremely high production quality.

Artists: Kawase Hasui, Itō Shinsui, Ohara Koson, Kasamatsu Shirō, Komura Settai, …

"This exhibition once again proves the versatility of the Art & History Museum's collection and the power of heritage in bringing together stories, communities and ideas across generations and continents." - Thomas Dermine, State Secretary for Economic Recovery and Strategic Investments, in charge of Science Policy.

This exhibition is a logical follow-up to the major Ukiyo-e exhibition held at the Museum in 2016-2017. It takes up the history of traditional printmaking in Japan where the 2016 exhibition ended. For the exhibition, the museum cooperates with guest curator Chris Uhlenbeck.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Shin hanga - The new prints of Japan 1900-1960
13.10.2022 > 15.01.2023
Art & History Museum
Parc du Cinquantenaire 10
1000 Brussels