Japan’s First Internationally Acclaimed Artist, Ogata Gekko Now has a Website Devoted to his Art Ogata Gekko (1859-1920), the very first Japanese artist to receive widespread international critical acclaim and international prizes, finally has a website devoted to his art: www.ogatagekko.com
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - Inside Studios (www.insidestudios.org), announces the debut of an educational, non-profit website devoted to Ogata Gekko (1859-1920). Gekko is held in the highest esteem by ukiyo-e academics and connoisseurs alike, and yet his work remains the most under valued of all Japanese art. This website aims to correct that by presenting representative work from his oeuvre, with the eventual goal of having Gekko’s catalogue raisonne online.
Gekko was first a painter. When he turned to print making, he developed an instantly recognizable painterly style. His prints are much akin to Turner watercolors. They have the illusion of brushstrokes, the colors blend into each other and are awash, and the perspectives are unique to Gekko. He was the first Japanese artist in any medium to receive official and widespread international critical acclaim, in the form of the Gold Prize at the first truly international event in America, the first World Fair, and prestigious prizes in Chicago (1893), Paris (1900), and London (1910). Furthermore, he had the good taste and higher artistic sense to mostly avoid many of the gaudy trends that were exploited by other, more popular print artists of the Meiji Period, such as the heavy use of bright red and purple dyes.
Inside Studios, a dealer in fine Asian art and antiques that specializes in the art of Ogata Gekko, decided that there was a need to educate the public on the work of one of Japan’s greatest artists. It is their hope that more people, artists and art-lovers, laypersons and experts, the casually and deeply curious, will have their lives enriched by an appreciation for the art of this finest of Japanese artists, Ogata Gekko. http://www.ogatagekko.com
