The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-22

lAION ~ NaAA AO0Ee u $500
ures. Hiroshige's new method introduced
landscape art as a mosaic of characteristic
local color, his skies being solid blue, pink,
purple or lead color. with clouds or sun
sets in realistic hues. and his foliage solid
greens of opposing values. And the reds
of his temples, the browns and grays of
his bridges and buildings. the colors of his
peasants clothing, all entered the same
scale with oolors of earth and sky. diversi-
flying rather than dominating them. What
surprises the modern Western artists is the
fact that all this wealth of atmospheric
color was often achieved by four or five
impressions from as many coarsely-cut
wooden blocks.
OLD JAPANESE MASTERS.
Professor Brown. like most collectors OF
these prints. is an enthusiast on the work OF
the old japanese masters. regarding the
Oriental school of woodcut illustration as
far superior in both technical and artistic
results to that of any other nation. He says
that as mere arrangements of decorative
color the prints are generally superb; as
exercises in composition they are unsur-
passed, but that they usually strike an out
slider with something of a shock on account
of being vastly different and so rebellious
when compared to the art of western coun-
tries. The Japanese artist, according to
Professor Brown. is not concerned with
unnecessary accuracy. but can, If he
chooses-as in the drawings of birds and
fiowers-attain a realism that is astonish-
ing. But when he has a tale 10 tell.
whether ii be of the passions or follies of
men, of the quaint inanity of the pro-
fessional beauty, of the tenderness of even
ing light, every consideration is sacrificed
TO the telling of that tale. and he does not
allow anything TO interfere with the exact
presentment of the one idea that he wishes
to dominate your thoughts. But at the
same time he adds queer little conventions
of his own in direct opposition to all other
artistic creeds.
One of these little conventions is the
unique manner in which the signature of
the artist is placed on his production. The
western artist sketches in his name at
the bottom of his painting merely for the
sake of publishing himself as its creator.
The japanese master refuses to violate
artistic principles in this way, and his sig
nature is worked into his picture in such a
manner that it corresponds in a picturesque
fashion to the design itself and does not
interfere with the integrity OF the prOouc-
ton. but rather embellishes it instead. The
artist always has a poetic name for himself,
and in one of Professor Browns most
valued prints the signature appears as
"Kunyoschi. of the Morning Cherry Bios
som Bower" The experienced collector
makes a special study of these old sigma
lures and when he is ION a hunt" for a
masterpiece he gives as much attention to
the manner in which the artists name APP
pears in the print as to the print itself.
MADE DASH FOR TREASURE.
Professor Brown tells with a good deal
of humor of the days when he was making
his collection in San Francisco. There were
three other collectors besides himself in
California and whenever a box of the prints
arrived at the little japanese art store on
the top floor of an old office building on
Post street, the four enthusiasts dropped
all other work and made a dash for the
treasure box. The professor had made ar
rangements with the little Jap who kept
the store by which he (the professor) was
to be sent a telegram the moment the new
assortment Of prints reached San Francis
CO. His rivals, who. like himself, lived
some little distance from the city, seemed
W HdNC u III III "E 80
shrewd storekeeper, for it usually hap
pened that the four collectors turned up
at about the same time at the japanese
establishment-but the professor always
managed to get there first, and so had
first choice in rummaging through the
quaint old pictures, much to the disgust of
the other three men. Many cf the prints
were worth a little or nothing from the
collectors standpoint, n il took a long
time and a great deal of money for the
professor TO gather together his seven
hundred masterpieces. many of them ex-
quisite little things that are worth a hun
dred dollars each.
Professor Brown says that practically all
of these rare old prints are now owned
by professional collectors, as japan has
been completely ransacked during the last
twenty-five years by the artists who have
succumbed to the fascination Of this pecul-
lar school of expression. He says that
these prints have been recognized for many
years as the source of inspiration of much
that is newest and best in western land
scape art, but that their most valuable in
fuence is to-day only in the infancy of its
development.