japonisme

13 April 2007

more japonisme in book design

what, one might think, does this child fash- ioning a game out of book furniture have to do with japon- isme, and then one realizes the artists, jessie wilcox smith and elizabeth shippen green, have given themselves away by making the only easily identifiable cover be one of the bound collection of issues of s. bing's 'artistic japan.' (from here)

i like this simple offering by peeter kippik for the drawing, yes, but also for the very calligraphic lettering. (from here)












as i typed in the search terms 'crows in japanese art,' i laughed at myself. one of the strongest and clearest memories i have from japan are the crows. they were a common element of japanese art, painting and printmaking, throughout at least the edo period (of 250 years); i'll guess it was a mix of presence, personality, and brushstroke simplicity, that kept them there.





and then there is this, an illustration to a grimm fairy tale, 'the seven crows,' probably, by gustaf tenggren
(from here who got it from here.)












clara chipman newton, a designer of rookwood pottery, also illustrated some books.







ohara koson was a printer and painter specializing in kacho-e, images of birds, flowers, fruits.






and i wish, oh i wish someone could tell me who designed these?

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