Masao Ido, "From Nigatsudo" (二月堂より) limited edition Japanese woodblock print, 1994, in original Japanese frame

Masao Ido, "From Nigatsudo" (二月堂より) limited edition Japanese woodblock print, 1994, in original Japanese frame

Sunset over Nara seen from the veranda of Nigatsudo, rendered in layered pinks and deep forest greens. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 81/200 by Masao Ido, with his red seal.

Masao Ido's "From Nigatsudo" is the view from the wooden veranda of one of Nara's most revered temple halls, at the moment the sun sinks toward the Ikoma mountains. A pale yellow sun hangs in a sky of apricot, rose and lilac. Below, the ancient capital spreads out beneath a canopy of deep greens, its grey-tiled temple roofs layered one over the other. The dark eaves of the hall and the carved balustrade frame the scene and place the viewer on the veranda.

Ido builds this tranquil composition with flat, confident planes of colour and finely graded washes in the sky. The foliage is printed with a textured, almost pointillist grain. The balance of mass and light, and the sense of stillness, are typical of his best work.

The print is titled in Japanese in the lower left margin, dated '94, signed "Masao Ido" in pencil, numbered 81/200 and stamped with the artist's red seal. It comes in its original Japanese frame, a silver-toned moulding with a grey textured mat, ready to hang.

Details

• Artist: Masao Ido (1945–2016)
• Title: From Nigatsudo (二月堂より)
• Date: 1994
• Medium: Japanese woodblock print (moku hanga) on washi
• Edition: 81/200
• Signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil; red seal
• Frame: original Japanese frame, silver-toned moulding
• Dimensions (framed): H 44 x W 56 x D 2.5 cm / H 17.3 x W 22.0 x D 1.0 in

About the artist
Masao Ido was born in 1945 in Beipiao, in northeastern China, and grew up in Japan before settling in Kyoto. He began as an apprentice in traditional fabric dyeing, then turned to woodblock printing around 1972, studying under Shigechika Ohtsubo. He soon won prizes in Japanese print exhibitions. His prints are quiet, contemplative views of temples, gardens, old streets and the changing seasons. They are admired for their subtle colour and their distinctive greens, sometimes called "Ido green". His work has been exhibited in Japan, the US, Canada and Europe. It is held in public collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Library of Congress. Ido died in 2016, and interest in his prints has grown since.

About Nigatsudo
Nigatsudo ("Second Month Hall") is part of Tōdai-ji, the great Buddhist temple in Nara, on the hillside east of the Great Buddha Hall. It takes its name from the Shuni-e (Omizutori) ceremony, held every year since 752 and originally in the second month of the lunar calendar. During the ceremony, monks carry huge flaming torches along the hall's wide wooden veranda. The present building dates from 1669, after an earlier fire, and is a National Treasure. Tōdai-ji is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara". The veranda is also one of the finest places in Nara to watch the sun set over the city and plain, which is the view Ido captures here.

Masao Ido, Japanese woodblock print, moku hanga, Nigatsudo, Nara, Todai-ji, Kyoto school, contemporary Japanese print, limited edition, sunset landscape, temple, original Japanese frame, signed print, Asian art, wall art

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