A bed of irises in wine, violet, indigo and white under a blue sky

A dense bed of irises fills the sheet from edge to edge, tall green sword-leaves rising against a band of blue sky at the top. The blooms come in deep wine-red, violet, near-black indigo, pure white and white streaked with pink, each fall marked with a yellow blaze. The flowers crowd forward in the lower half at close range and recede into the leaves towards the top.

Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was the defining landscape artist of shin-hanga, the movement that carried Japanese woodblock printing into the twentieth century. From 1918 he worked with the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, travelling almost continuously through Japan and turning roadside sketches into prints of unusual atmospheric precision. Snow, rain and failing light were his real subjects, as much as any temple or harbour. In 1956 Japan recognised his woodblock technique as an Intangible Cultural Property. His prints are held by the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.